Rahu Ketu certification: CBFC cuts 'Kantara Scream,' swaps middle finger with pinky finger

Pulkit Samrat leads the cast of the hilarious flick ‘Rahu Ketu,’ alongside Varun Sharma, Shalini Pandey, Piyush Mishra, Chunky Panday, Amit Sial, Manu Rishi Chadha, and Sumit Gulati, set to be released in theaters on this Friday, January 16. The makers nailed the censorship formalities right on schedule earlier this week.

CBFC's key modifications

According to Bollywood Hungama, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) passed the film with a U/A 16+ certificate. However, they asked the makers for a few changes. In a scene, a dialogue was replaced. The drug sniffing and snorting visuals were asked to be replaced with appropriate shots wherever they occurred in the film. The middle finger was asked to be modified to the pinky finger whenever shown in the movie. All alcohol brand names were asked to be removed.

Final certification details

As per the report, the filmmakers had to submit a verification letter for the Sanskrit shloka included in the movie. The Examining Committee further directed them to swap out the 'Kantara film music (voom) scream.' With these edits in place, Rahu Ketu's producers secured the censor certificate on Monday, January 12. The certificate notes a runtime of 139.40 minutes, or precisely 2 hours, 19 minutes, and 40 seconds.

Production and reunion buzz

‘Rahu Ketu’ is produced by Umesh Kumar Bansal, Suraj Singh, and Varsha Kukreja. It reunites Pulkit Samrat and Varun Sharma after their successful ‘Fukrey’ series. Vipul Vig, writer of ‘Fukrey’ (2013), ‘Fukrey Returns’ (2017), and ‘Fukrey 3’ (2023), makes his directorial debut with this film.

Pulkit Samrat's promo insights

At the Bollywood Hungama OTT India Fest and India Entertainment Awards 2025, Pulkit said, “Since the time the first part of Fukrey was released, Varun and I have been getting lots and lots of offers to do a film together. Aur bahut dukh hota hai kyunki humein bahut paise offer hote hain. When we reject so much money, that is when we realize that hum acche insaan hai! Hum sirf kaam ki kadar karte hai. He continued, “We were always very clear that if we both do a film together other than the Fukrey series, it has to be very interesting and a grade above Fukrey. That is where Rahu Ketu comes in. It's a very exciting and fantastical world with very exciting characters. The way the story unfolds is heartwarming.”