James Gunn’s “Superman” has hit a snag in India – not for action, but for its romance.
India’s Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) removed two kiss scenes – most notably a 33-second mid-air kiss – deeming them “overly sensual,” per local reports, to achieve a UA (13+) rating before the film’s July 7 certification. The cuts have fueled a backlash over inconsistent and conservative censorship practices.
Online reactions captured the mood. Actor Shreya Dhanwanthary (SonyLIV’s “Scam 1992,” Prime Video’s “The Family Man”) posted, reacting to reports of the censorship: “If this is true, this is RIDICULOUS!!! Some ridiculous crap happens every day. Every. Damn. Day. Sure this is the least of our worries but is something done about anything else? There is some crap every day. Every. Damn. Day.”
Digital creator Amol Jamwal wrote on X: “You can have lewd double meaning jokes in Housefull 5. Beheadings & gory violence in Jaat But…. Superman kissing Lois Lane is where we draw the line”
Another user on X posted: “CBFC would allow horrific scenes of violence and sexual assault in a U certified film that kids are freely allowed to watch, but won’t allow consensual kissing in a U/A comic book movie that kids should watch under adult supervision.”
This isn’t the first such case this year. “F1” had a middle-finger emoji replaced with a fist, and “Thunderbolts” was released in India with muted expletives. The recurring pattern has reignited debate over freedom of expression and the CBFC’s broad powers under the Cinematograph Act. The CBFC’s certification guidelines enshrine freedom of speech and expression but these rights are subject to “reasonable restrictions” on various grounds, including “decency or morality.”
The 2021 dissolution of the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal has further complicated matters, leaving filmmakers with no industry recourse short of legal appeals through India’s high courts — a time-consuming and expensive process, particularly for international studios with global rollouts.
Variety has reached out to CBFC and Warner Bros. Discovery for comment.