Radhika Apte’s upcoming film Sister Midnight has come under the scanner of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The board has lately been seen to have cautious approach to sensitive content and this time around asked the makers to drop a scene featuring frontal nudity and to add a disclaimer warning viewers against superstition.
Directed by Karan Kandhari, the film made waves at Cannes 2024. The story follows Uma, a newly married woman whose life slowly comes undone as her husband becomes emotionally abusive.
An insider tells us, “A key scene showing frontal nudity didn’t sit well with the board’s guidelines on explicit content. The filmmakers were advised to remove the sequence to secure certification.” When the film was viewed by British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), it was noted that it features a sex scene with partial breast and buttock nudity, which has been eliminated from India release. But despite the edit of the scene that appears at the one hour 11 minute mark, the film has been given A certificate. The cuss words in the film have been muted which is a new move.
In addition to that cut, the CBFC instructed the team to add a disclaimer right at the start of the film, clarifying that the movie doesn’t promote or endorse superstition. It reads “This film is a work of fiction. Neither the applicant of this film, nor the producer, the director, the artist, nor any other person associated with this film intends to promote, propagate, or encourage superstition, the supernatural, witchcraft, or black magic in any manner.”