Timeline of Art Censorship

Art is a popular target of censorship. It includes banning movies which are deemed offensive to a few individuals to banning paintings or sculptures which could potentially hurt sentiments of a religious group. . The Cinematograph Act, 1952 and rules notified therein govern the public exhibition of films. The Programme and Advertising Code prescribed under the Cable Television Network Rules, 1994, governs the broadcast of films on television. The timeline provides instances wherein unwarranted restrictions were imposed on various forms of arts including paintings, movies, videos, sculptures etc.If you feel we have missed out on reporting any instance of art censorship, please use the report button to tell us more.

2020

Name : Netflix Bad Boy Billionaires: India

Why was it banned? : Invasion of Privacy

State : All over India

Description : A restricting injunction was filed against the airing of the docu-series based on a petition filed by Satyam founder B. Ramalinga Raju, who features in the series. NEtflix later aired 3 other episodes of the series but not the one containing Ramalinga Raju.

Source : https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/hyderabad-court-stays-release-of-netflixs-bad-boy-billionaires-india-following-ramalinga-rajus-objections/articleshow/77886552.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

2020

Name : Netflix Bad Boy Billionaires: India

Why was it banned? : Malign the petitioner's image and adversely affect his company

State : All over India

Description : An interim stay on transmission of the series using the name of Subrata Roy, Chairman of Sahara India till the appearance of Netflix’s counsels before the Court.

Source : https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/netflix-series-choksis-plea-rejected-bihar-court-restrains-use-of-sahara-chiefs-name/articleshow/77813229.cms?from=mdr

2020

Name : Chanda: A Signature that Ruined a Career"

Why was it banned? : Defamatory

State : All over India

Description : The screening, exhibiting or marketing of the film based on the life of the plaintiff- former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kocher was prohibited by the court till the next hearing set for November, 2020.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/delhi-court-orders-stay-on-movie-based-on-chanda-kochhars-life-2137548

2020

Name : Gunjan Saxena- The Kargil Girl

Why was it banned? : Allegedly portrayed the ministry of defense as sexist and distorted facts

State : All over India

Description : The Ministry of Defense had filed a plea seeking immediate withdrawal of the film from all OTT platforms and the right to sue the producers for damage. The court dismissed the plea stating that the MOD was was big enough to protect their reputation.

Source : https://indianexpress.com/article/india/delhi-high-court-refuses-stay-on-gunjan-saxena-biopic-6580873/

2020

Name : Last Week Tonight With John Oliver

Why was it banned? : Critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi

State : All over India

Description : Disney owned Hotstar blocked an episode(S7E3) of John Oliver's talk show in India which was critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP and the RSS. It has not been available on the streaming platform.

Source : https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiq--XxhqbsAhX-IbcAHTBRAxoQFjABegQIBRAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fentertainment%2Fhotstar-blocks-john-olivers-last-week-tonight-episode-criticising-narendra-modi%2Farticle30920096.ece&usg=AOvVaw1PsI-RLlkKYEbLquLyLJiV

2020

Name : Madam Secretary

Why was it banned? : India-Pakistan relation and Kashmir

State : All over India

Description : Amazon Prime deleted an episode of CBS show Madam Secretary which deals with Hindu nationalism and Kashmir. . Indian subscribers of Prime Video cannot access the first episode of the show’s fifth season (originally aired 7 October 2018).

Source : https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/in-act-of-self-censorship-amazon-prime-deletes-episode-of-cbs-show-madam-secretary-which-deals-with-hindu-nationalism-and-kashmir-7673661.html

2020

Name : Mission Impossible: Fall Out

Why was it banned? : Not Provided

State : all over India

Description : Netflix chose to air the Indian Censor board certified version of Mission: Impossible – Fallout on its platform in India, which erases all mentions of the Kashmir region, be it the words “Kashmir” or “Indian-controlled Kashmir”, or a map of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state.

Source : https://gadgets.ndtv.com/entertainment/news/mission-impossible-fallout-netflix-india-censorship-kashmir-theatrical-cbfc-hindi-dub-2252960

2019

Name : FIR against Netflix

Why was it banned? : Defaming India and hurting Hindu sentiments

State : Not Provided

Description : Shiv Sena IT cell head Ramesh Solanki filed an FIR with the Mumbai Police against Netflix India, alleging that the OTT service was airing hindu-phobic shows to malign the image of India globally. He cited Ghoul, Sacred Games and Hasan Minaj's Patriot Act as the offensive content. The case is still pending.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/television/top-stories/story/shiv-sena-member-accuses-netflix-of-defaming-hindus-and-india-files-police-complaint-1595332-2019-09-04

2019

Name : Bhobishoter Bhoot

Why was it banned? : Fear of mob-reprisal

State : West Bengal

Description : The film was pulled out of theatres a day after its release. The Supreme Court directed the State to allow the airing of the film without obstruction a month later, based on a plea filed by the producers. The government was fined one lakh and had to pay Rs 20 lakhs to the producers for its virtual ban later that year.

Source : Not Provided

2018

Name : Sacred Games

Why was it banned? : Defaming former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi In a dialogue

State : All over India

Description : Three complaints were filed against the producers of the show by Congress party members, and two were subsequently withdrawn. A single petition went to the Delhi Court which dismissed the petition stating it tantamounted to private injury. Netflix was given the choice to remove the dialogue if they wished to, and they chose to not.

Source : https://www.medianama.com/2018/08/223-delhi-high-court-netflix-refuses-to-censor-rajiv-gandhi-dialogue-in-sacred-games/

2018

Name : Complaint against Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap

Why was it banned? : Hurting Sikh Sentiments

State : All over India

Description : BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa filed a complaint at Parliament Police Station, Delhi against Anurag Kashyap, the director of the show for insulting Sikh sentiments. The case has not been resolved as of yet.

Source : https://www.firstpost.com/india/more-trouble-for-sacred-games-bjp-leader-files-plaint-against-anurag-kashyap-for-hurting-sentiments-of-hindus-sikhs-7195861.html

2017

Name : Amazon Prime - American Gods

Why was it banned? : Offends religious sentiments

State : All over India

Description : Amazon Prime airs two different versions of American Gods, one specifically for Indian sensibilities which censors male nudity, and blocks mentions of cow-killing. While the uncensored version is also available on the platform, it requires a manual search and is not advertised.

Source : https://gadgets.ndtv.com/entertainment/news/amazon-prime-video-american-gods-censorship-beef-cow-killing-male-nudity-1691691

2016

Name : Delhi High Court Asks Centre to Examine if Soft Porn Is Being Shown on Hotstar

Why was it banned? : Explicit content

State : All over India

Description : Based on a plea, the Delhi Court directed the centre to examine if Hotstar was airing soft-pornography on its streaming platform, in contravention to internet protocols and uplink/downlink guidelines.

Source : https://gadgets.ndtv.com/tv/news/delhi-high-court-asks-centre-to-examine-if-soft-porn-is-being-shown-on-hotstar-1627184

2017

Name : S Durga

Why was it banned? : offensive content

State : All over India

Description : The film was denied permission for screening at the Mumbai Film Festival and the International Indian Film Festival by the ministry of Information and Broadcast. After the film got certification from CBFC (with 22 cuts and a change in the title) the film was aired in the MFF. The director filed a petition at the Kerela High Court about the IFFI ban, as per the verdict a revising censor board panel released the film for screenings without any cuts and S Durga as the title in 2018.

Source : https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/this-move-could-put-the-international-film-festival-of-india-face-to-face-with-one-of-its-biggest-scandals-yet/articleshow/61703629.cms

2016

Name : Udta Punjab

Why was it banned? : offensive content

State : All over India

Description : The Censor Board of India had asked for 89 cuts on the film before its release. The director Anurag Kashyap filed a plea in the Bombay High Court, which scrapped all the cuts except one.

Source : https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/udtapunjab-creative-freedom-wins-bombay-hc-chops-only-one-scene-in-a-film/articleshow/52728482.cms

2016

Name : Grand Tour

Why was it banned? : Offends religious sentiments

State : All over India

Description : The Amazon original cuts an hour long episode nearly by half when being aired in India because it features beef in a sequence about meat-mobiles.

Source : https://gadgets.ndtv.com/tv/features/behind-the-scenes-with-indian-tv-channels-self-censors-874695

2017

Name : Jolly LLB 2

Why was it banned? : Negative portrayal of lawyers

State : All over India

Description : A lawyer filed a writ petition before the Bombay High Court for the deletion of certain scenes that undermined the “solemnity and gravitas” of a judge’s seat The High Court proposed a review committee to view the film, but the producers appealed to the Supreme Court for relief. The SC however, did not interfere with the committee’s functioning,and according to the committee report, the director had to make 4 cuts and scene edits and then get the film re-certified for the petition to be withdrawn.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/jolly-llb-2-akshay-kumar-huma-qureshi-court-case-959277-2017-02-06

2006

Name : Slayers: Christ Illusion

Why was it banned? : Hurt Christian and Muslim sentiments

State : All over India

Description : Following protests by Christian groups, all stocks of the album were recalled by the band's Indian label- EMI and destroyed. It has not been sold in India even after the offensive album cover was replaced with a censored version, especially given certain songs contained themes that offended religious sentiments.

Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6039976.stm

Timeline of Art Censorship

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