CBFC's Kryptonite: Superman may save the world, but smooching is off limits in India
Central Board of Film Certification
(CBFC) cut two kissing scenes, including a much-talked-about 33-second mid-air embrace, calling them 'overly sensual'. These edits were made so the film could get a UA (13+) rating before its 7 July certification.
Many felt the cuts were unnecessary and reeked of double standards. Actor Shreya Dhanwanthary posted, '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.'
— jammypants4 (@jammypants4)
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Digital creator Amol Jamwal joined in, writing 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.'
— shreyadhan13 (@shreyadhan13)
— pranavgngadhrn (@pranavgngadhrn)
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— madmanweb (@madmanweb)
Another user summed up the contradiction: '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.'
Old tension, new flashpoint
This isn't the first film to get snipped for 'morality'. Earlier this year, the Brad Pitt-led F1 movie saw a middle-finger emoji replaced with a harmless fist. Thunderbolts lost its swear words. Last year, the CBFC blocked The Apprentice, a Donald Trump biopic, after director Ali Abbasi refused to comply with cuts. Abbasi said, 'I ran away from Iranian censorship only to meet corporate censorship of the US. Now India. Really? Censorship seems to be an epidemic at the moment.'
Santosh, an award-winning film on police violence and misogyny, faced the same fate when its director Sandhya Suri called the cut requests 'disappointing and heartbreaking'.
Why it stings
The anger is not just about Superman. Many see this as part of a bigger problem. While Hollywood kisses get the chop, Indian films with explicit violence, stalking and misogyny glide through with minimal fuss. Some Bollywood blockbusters like Animal, often slammed for glorifying toxic masculinity, have no trouble with censors. Controversial releases like The Kashmir Files and The Kerala Story, accused of distorting facts and stoking communal tensions, sailed through with political support.
A lost right to appeal
Much of this boils down to power with no oversight. The CBFC's guidelines promise freedom of expression but tag it with 'reasonable restrictions' for 'decency or morality'. The Film Certification Appellate Tribunal, which once gave filmmakers an industry-level appeal, was scrapped in 2021. What remains is a tedious and expensive court battle, out of reach for many local and foreign studios trying to hit global release dates.
Indian cinema's awkward dance with on-screen kissing goes back decades. Until the 90s, kisses were mostly replaced by symbolic shots — flowers brushing, birds flying. The 1933 film Karma broke the mould with a four-minute kiss but little changed for years. Attitudes have softened in urban pockets but plenty of India still clings to older, conservative views, keeping the censor's scissors busy.
While Superman's hopeful tone lives on, this debate is not going away. For now, fans in India will have to imagine what a 33-second mid-air kiss between Superman and Lois Lane might have looked like. Variety has reached out to the CBFC and Warner Bros. Discovery for comment but silence holds.
The question left hanging is simple: where does India draw the line between free expression and forced restraint? Many in the industry want an answer.
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