Not For Small Screen: 'Grand Masti', 'Shortcut Romeo' inapt for TV viewing

'Grand Masti' denied television certification by the Censor Board and 'Shortcut Romeo' has to do without a U certificate

Neil Nitin Mukesh-starrer 'Shortcut Romeo' will not be aired on Doordarshan. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has denied it a U certificate citing the film's adult content that is said to not suit Doordarshan's audiences.

The film had released in cinema halls with a U/A certificate, and since then, it has also been telecast on a general entertainment channel. But tapping into Doordarshan's audience base may not be possible for its producers now. A source close to the board says, `The film, with its adult theme, features a lot of vulgar content and such films cannot be aired on Doordarshan.`

When contacted, actor Neil Nitin Mukesh admitted that film has some adult content but clarified that it is not an adult film. `It features less nudity than most of our popular films today,` he said.

Indra Kumar's controversial film 'Grand Masti', on the other hand, has been refused certification for its telecast on television. The decision was taken after a CBFC committee watched the film on Tuesday.

In the meantime, Hansal Mehta's film 'Shahid' has been cleared by the CBFC with a U/A certificate for television. The makers of the film have been asked to snip expletives and a nude scene from the film. A source said, `The board has asked the film's makers to delete a nude scene featuring Rajkumar Rao and around eight cusswords to be muted out of the film.''
The filmmaker, however, said that he was not aware of this certification. `I had deleted expletives from the film three months ago but the Censor Board didn't watch it then. I do not wish to delete the nude scene but want to rework it aesthetically so that the board finds no fault with it. The scene should be retained as the character's suffering needs to be shown to audiences. I also want the film to be telecast on television as soon possible,` he said.

It may be recalled that the film, was issued an A certificate by the CBFC for its theatrical release. This had upset the filmmaker, who then filed RTIs against films such as 'Ram Leela' and 'Madras Cafe', which, - according to him, were given a U/A certificate despite featuring violence and kissing scenes.

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