A same-sex kiss in Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan will likely be given the clean chit by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), according to a report. Members of the Censor Board will soon be shown the film ahead of its February 21 release, and are expected to clear the scene with a minor change.
Bollywood Hungama quotes a source as saying, “No member of the censor board had any objection to the same-sex kiss in the trailer. However, the expletive that Gajraj Rao (playing Jitendra Kumar’s father) utters when he sees his son kissing his male lover, has been beeped.”
A source close to producer Aanand L Rai was quoted as saying, “Aanand was very apprehensive about the kiss. He wanted a ‘U’ certificate for the trailer of Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan. And for that he was anxious that the CBFC would ask for the kiss to be removed. But no one objected to the kiss, only to the swear word that Gajraj Rao utters when the kiss happens.”
According to the report, the board has no intention of demanding a snip to the scene in the theatrical cut of the film. A source said, “They are looking at it as a love story, not a GAY love story, a sure sign that the censor board in India has evolved.”
Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan is a standalone sequel to the 2017 film Shubh Mangal Saavdhan. The film stars Ayushmann Khurrana as a gay man, and is being touted as the first mainstream gay love story in Bollywood. The film also stars Jitendra Kumar, Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao.
Speaking about the kiss, Jitendra had told Mumbai Mirror in an interview, “I am a reserved person, but Ayushmann made me comfortable. He is easy to work with and is quite friendly.”
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