Board of films removes the finger in Ungli

 

Ungli, the new film produced by Karan Johar and Hiroo Yash Johar that will release tomorrow literally means ‘the finger’. Predictably, the film has several of the lead characters showing the middle finger, which is universally understood to mean a sign of disrespect. According to director Rensil D’Silva, the movie is named such and features the finger as an act of defiance expressing the indigence and contempt that the film’s characters feel for the corruption all around them.

However, the Censor Board of film Certification seems not to have agreed with this philosophy and has removed at least two shots of the characters flashing their middle finger in the film. Rensil seems to have taken this in his stride, agreeing that there were some changes in the dialogue and that two shots of the middle finger had to go, but saying that it was justified as they got a UA certificate in the bargain. While flashing the middle finger can at most be viewed as a gesture of extreme disrespect or offense, the censor board seems to have put it in the ranks of nudity and extreme violence.

The U/A certification means the film can be viewed by children 12 and above. Ask any 12 year old what the middle finger means and they will be able to tell you. On the other hand, the censor board unflinchingly put films such as Kick, Bang Bang and Haider which have scenes of violence, the casual use of guns, those item numbers etc out there with the same certificate.

Additionally, it is clear that the censor board themselves have their own quirky guidelines when it comes to deciding when and when not the middle finger is okay. Look at the movie The Shaukeens that released this year. Here, prints containing shots of Dimple Kapadia showing her middle finger where cut as it was considered offensive. However, the scene When Kareena Kapoor flashes her middle finger at Saif Ali Khan was passed by the board without a cut.

The movie is about four youths who are fed up with the corrupt practices they have to face on a daily basis and after a chance encounter at a gym, they decide to form a vigilante group to tackle corruption. Unsurprisingly, this ruffles the feathers of many a politician, who in turn put pressure on the police department to arrest the group.

The movie will be released in theatres on 28 November and will star Emraan Hashmi, Kangana Ranaut, Randeep Hooda, Sanjay Dutt, Neha Dhupia, Angad Bedi and Neil Bhoopalam.