CBFC's guidelines for cuss words in films

A gangster film, needless to say, cannot be watched with one’s family. Simply because you cannot imagine it without cuss words being uttered extensively. Take Shootout At Wadala (SAW ), for instance. The film had to be content with an ‘A'’ certificate from the Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC) because the makers preferred to retain most of the gaalis.
In SAW’s case, one scene with cuss words against women was directed to be deleted: the one in which Siddhant Kapoor talks about which gaali should be the national gaali of India.
Writer Milap Zaveri defends the language of the film and says that the Censor Board did cut dialogues. He said, “It’s a film about gangsters, so just like we have been authentic with sets, look, costumes, I strived to be as authentic as possible with the dialogues. The gangster on the street of any era used abusive words and cusses. So in a film depicting the same, such language is needed.”
Thereby hangs the tale of the new cuss classification in Bollywood. One cuss word in a film gets a ‘U’, but the more colourful ones (and their repeated use in the film, thereof) are asking for an ‘A’. A source from the CBFC said, “Cuss words are now getting classified rather than deleted or muted in movies. A kind of unsaid rule seems to be followed: to put a particular gaali in a specific category of film certification.”
At times, female Board members have to be educated by their male counterparts about certain cuss words. Said one, “A few of us didn’t understand what ‘DK Bose’ and ‘tharki’ mean. It was explained to us.”
Back then...
Anurag Kashyap who earlier faced problems with the CBFC with films like Paanch and Black Friday is happy with the way the board is certifying films. His last film Gangs of Wasseypur series was certified ‘A’. He said, “They are actually very good and they do try and see our point of view. In GOW, only two scenes were deleted and those were the ones that referred to a woman’s anatomy.”
The producers of Pyaar Ka Punchnama refused to take an ‘A’ certificate and that’s why all thegaalis in that film had to be beeped. The film got a ‘U/A’ after that.
Double Dhamaal producers insisted on a ‘U/A’ rating and a lot of the dialogue was modified or deleted. The movie still had a lot of double meaning dialogue but the producer was given the benefit of doubt and the film got a ‘U/A’ certification.
Allah Ke Bandey, which got a National Award, has abusive language. It was of course certified ‘A’.
Smaller films like Bhindi Baazaar Inc have a lot of abusive language, and are given ‘A’ certification.
It was different in the 1090s. Mahesh Bhatt’s Zakhm was given an ‘A’ certificate for only one abusive word (Haram-Zaada). Shekhar Kapur’s Bandit Queen had to fight a court battle to get cleared by the CBFC because of abuses. Says Bhatt, “Today you have dub those words with acceptable ones for television viewing.”
Censor's cuss classification
U
‘Haram-Khor’ is mostly put in the U category; if it is used to show the character is an idiot.
U/A
If ‘Haram-Zaada’ (a child born out of wedlock) is used more than once. Ch****a is fine if it is used by the villain.
A
When almost all cuss words are passed, then the film is certified ‘A’.