Top 5 Banned and Controversial Movies of Bollywood

It is a known fact that Bollywood and controversies go hand in hand. Interestingly, there is no scarcity in Indian cinema of films with a little dose of controversies and protests, leading to fanatics threatening to burn down everything if the film hurts their sentiments. From changing film titles to offering 10 crores to behead Deepika Padukone (Padmavati) Bollywood has seen it all. Some say that the producers plan these stunts, while some exclaim that it is genuine, it is yet another controversy in itself. Sadly, this trend of protesting and banning movies shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.

Some of these films which our audiences and the censor board wasn’t able to digest because of its sensitive concept were happily accepted by international film festivals. From themes that deal with communal violence to homosexuality, these are some of the most controversial films ever made in India.

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5. Bandit Queen

Starring – Seema Biswas
Director – Shekhar Kapur

Based on the life of Phoolan Devi, a feared woman dacoit, Bandit Queen is one of the best films to have ever graced the silver screen. It received an overwhelmingly positive response at several film festivals. However, it was not happily accepted by the Censor Board of India for use of unrefined language, sexual content, and nudity. It depicted the pain and struggle of Phoolan Devi but the rape scene and the nude scenes by the lead actress Seema Biswas were not approved and even the lady herself (Phoolan Devi) had an issue with the release of the film. Despite all the Backlash, it went on to win the National Film Award for Best Feature Film.

Was that struggle too much to gulp?

4. Fire

Starring – Nandita Das, Shabana Azmi
Director – Deepa Mehta

Fire is the first installment in the well-known Elemental Trilogy by Deepa Mehta. This trilogy dealt with the controversial issues of various social reforms and Fire, in particular, glorified same-sex relationships. The film created an uproar on the first day of its release with vandals burning the posters and it was re-sent to the censors. The story of the film revolves around two lesbians who are sisters-in-law and are also victims of unsuccessful marriages. Fire was the first ever film in the mainstream cinema to explicitly show homosexual relations. It is also considered as a path-breaking cinema. But, after thinking about all these things all I can ask is:

Is India ready for “different” cinema?

3. Black Friday

Starring – Various
Director – Anurag Kashyap

I guess that controversies have never stopped following Anurag Kashyap. His interesting hard-hitting crime drama, Black Friday tells us a tale about one of the most horrific events in the history of Mumbai: “The 1992-93 riots and bombings”. The film revolves around the intense events and happening of the blasts. It was not released in Indian theaters for two years as the Censor Board banned it while the verdict was still pending for the 1993 case, they argued that the film would bias public opinion against them and affect the court’s decision. The film received praise from both international and national media with the New York Times comparing it to Academy Award nominees Salvador and Munich. It is truly a must watch movie.

Can a 2-hour long movie change your opinion?

2. Satyam Shivam Sundaram

Starring – Zeenat Aman, Shashi Kapoor
Director – Raj Kapoor

Raj Kapoor was a known name when it came to the bold cinema. Satyam Shivam Sundaram (The Truth, The God and The Beauty) was a part of it. The audiences were not able to digest the provocative dressing by the lead actress played by Zeenat Aman and extremely steamy scenes between Shashi Kapoor and Zeenat fumed audience’s emotion. The film was banned for some time. However, the Censor board approved the scenes and when the ban was uplifted the film was a huge success and won various awards.

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1. Paanch

Starring – Tejaswini Kolhapure, Kay Kay Menon
Director – Anurag Kashyap

Anurag Kashyap has never shied away from exploring bold and sensitive topics, which may not sit well with many in the Indian community. His directorial debut Paanch, which revolves around the life of five band members entangled in a kidnapping plot which went wrong and then killing people. This movie couldn’t see the rise on the silver screen and remains unreleased to this day. Inspired by true life incidents, the drugs, violence, and sex depicted in the film was considered inappropriate for the Indian audiences and people even exclaimed that such things will affect the youth of India.

Seriously?

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