The Family Man actress Shreya Dhanwanthary reacted to the CBFC’s decision to cut the kissing scene between David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan in the Indian release of Superman.
The new Superman film, directed by James Gunn, released worldwide this Friday, on July 11. However, viewers in India were disappointed after discovering that the CBFC certain scenes had been removed from the film. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) reportedly made multiple edits and cuts, which also include trimming a 33-second kiss between David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan. Actress Shreya Dhanwanthary, known for her role in The Family Man, has now strongly criticizedhol CBFC’s censorship of the kissing scene in Superman, calling it ‘absolute nonsense’. She argued that viewers should have the freedom to choose what they watch, and pointed out that such censorship drives audiences away from cinemas.
Shreya Dhanwanthary took to her Instagram Stories to share a screenshot of a news article with the headline, “CBFC deletes 33-second-long ‘sensual visual’ in Superman.” She then went on to slam the decision to cut the scene, and wrote, “What absolute NONSENSE is this?! They want us to go to the theatres. They want us to stop pirating stuff. I don’t understand. Why make the theatre going experience so horrible then? LET US DECIDE WHAT WE WANT TO WATCH!!!! Let us decide what we want to do with our time and money!”
She further added, “WHAT RIDICULOUS CRAP THIS IS!!! Then they blame the audience and say that we don’t go to the cinemas anymore and then wonder why people watch mediocre crap on OTT’s and TV. It is because you are making the other options intolerable!!! A cinema hall is THE best way to experience a film. You are killing this and us by treating us like children.”
According to a report by Bollywood Hungama, the CBFC asked the production studio to remove every foul word uttered by the cast in Superman. Following the directive, an 8-second shot consisting of a slang gesture was asked to be deleted and was replaced by a two-second shot. Additionally, CBFC’s members also omitted an intimate kissing scene between the protagonists, which lasted for 33 seconds and was spread across two scenes. After the changes, Superman was passed with a U/A 13+ certificate by the CBFC. Now, the film’s duration, as mentioned on the certificate, is 2 hours 10 minutes and 44 seconds long.
James Gunn’s Superman showcases David Corenswet slipping into the shoes of Clark Kent. Actress Rachel Brosnahan essays his love interest, Lois Lane. Nicolas Hoult, Milly Alcock, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, and Nathan Fillion are seen in key roles.
Meanwhile, Shreya Dhanwanthary played the role of Zoya in Manoj Bajpayee starrer web series ‘The Family Man’. She also played Sucheta Dalal in the web series ‘Scam 1992’. She has also been a part of ‘Looop Lapeta’, ‘Chup: Revenge Of The Artist’, ‘Mumbai Diaries 26/11’, among other projects. She will next be seen in The Family Man season 3, which was officially announced a few days ago.
