That romantic mid-air kiss between Superman and Lois Lane in “Superman” because was cut in India because the nation’s film board deemed it “overly sensual.”
Per news platform Bollywood Hungama, in addition to a few foul words being removed, the 33-second smooch was an issue for the Central Board of Film Certification (CFBC) and was removed as part of a censor process that was completed July 7. A source explained the details that go into the censoring process, which studios often anticipate.
The CBFC did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
“There are times when the studio anticipates that the CBFC might ask for a cut. It lengthens the censor process as one has to then make the cut, get it approved by the CBFC’s Examining Committee. Only then, do they get the certificate,” the source explained to Bollywood Hungama. “To save time and effort, they self-censor. This happened recently with ‘F1: The Movie’ when Brad Pitt’s character is seen sending a middle finger emoji to another character. What was shown on the Indian screen was a fist bump instead of the middle finger. As expected, CBFC got brickbats for it though it was the studio that made the change, possibly as they knew that they anyway will have to modify the ‘vulgar’ visual. The same studio, Warner Bros, also self-censored ‘Mickey 17.’”
Let’s just say, the decision to chop the kiss didn’t go over too well with fans, with many taking to social media to criticize the board while pointing out its inconsistencies.
“In modern India u can show gruesome stuff in a movie, but a beautiful kissing scene is censored out of the new superman movie. What exactly they want us to be?” one X user wrote.
“Seriously, what’s up with the Indian Censor Board? They chopped out basic kissing scenes from the new Superman movie, but somehow all the cringe item numbers and cheesy stuff in Bollywood get a free pass,” another social media user wrote.
The shade towards the board has yet to let up. Check out some of what other moviegoers had to say below.
“Superman” premiered in theaters on Friday.
