Some of the most awaited movies that were or are sure to be banned.

Call it duplicity or difference in opinions, human beings even after advancing to becoming modern with every passing era; still tend to subdue ideas, stories and fables that either offends or does not match their ideology. The greatest example to this conviction is the upright banning of films by governments, censors and other institutions who in the name safeguarding cultures, communities and principles directly impose a ban on films. So, for all of us so called “FREE PEOPLE” here’s a list of films that we all wanted or are waiting to watch but are sure to be dawned by disappointment of ban…

 

The Pink Mirror – The Indian release title Gulabi Aaina is an award-winning Indian film drama produced and directed by Sridhar Rangayan. Said to be the first Indian film to comprehensively focus on Indian transsexuals with the entire story revolving around two transsexuals and a gay teenager’s attempts to seduce a man – Samir (Rufy Baqal). The film explores the taboo subject of transsexuals in India which is still much misunderstood and ridiculed.

In 2003, the Central Board of Film Certification, the Indian Censor Board banned Rangayan’s film on Indian transsexuals. The censor board cited that the film was ‘vulgar and offensive’. The filmmaker appealed twice again unsuccessfully. The film still remains banned in India, but has screened at numerous festivals all over the world and won awards. The critics have applauded it for its ‘sensitive and touching portrayal of marginalized community’.

 

Fire – On its opening day in India, some film theaters were attacked by Hindu fundamentalists for depicting a lesbian relationship. The film was withdrawn and sent back to the Censor Board. But, later it was released uncut.

 

UNFREEDOM – One of the most awaited and a unique Indie film; which is sure to be different from Indian mainstream cinema has already been banned by the Indian censor board on the grounds of violence, homosexuality & nudity demonstrated by the film. Though banned in India the film is scheduled to release in various theaters of USA on 29th of May, Click Here to know more about this intriguing film.

 

50 Shades of Grey – A decision most had anticipated in the largely conservative Indian society, this film which is a depiction of an erotic novel was again banned to be adapted to the Big-Screens in India.

 

The Interview (2014) – It is absurdly hilarious and equally terrifying to think that such a film could endanger world peace. Not only is this politically-charged bromantic comedy never reaching Pyongyang — hard to know if there are any theaters there anyway — but it has also pushed Kim Jong-un’s kingdom to threaten “merciless” retaliation against the US. This amazing film was banned in Korea.

 

Da Vinci Code – Infuriated by the film, the Holy See condemned it by stating that it was an offensive and historically inaccurate work of fiction. In the U.S. some protesters were seen outside movie theaters upon its release probably encouraged by several Catholic Bishops calling for a boycott of the film. Based on Dan Brown’s equally divisive novel, the cinematic version went on to be banned in China, Egypt, parts of India, Jordan, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, amongst others. Moral discomfort was particularly more intense in the Philippines, where religious authorities labeled it “the most pornographic and blasphemous film in history” and declared that the film was a “vicious attack on the divinity of Jesus Christ.” Their prayers were heard when the film was effectively banned in the capital Manila and the country’s major theater chain refuse to screen the film.

 

Broke Back Mountain – Several Christian groups went to great lengths to mock, defame, and attack the film on the grounds that the homosexual behavior depicted on Ang Lee’s masterpiece was against traditional values. In Utah for example, a theater owner refused to screen the film hours before its opening citing similar concerns regarding its content. Other states also had very negative responses solely based on the subject matter. Abroad, Ennis and Jack’s romance was banned in most Middle Eastern countries like the UAE in which same-sex love is still criminalized. Nonetheless, “Brokeback Mountain” became one of the most talked about films of that year. Love it or hate it, the world still doesn’t know how to abandon this film.

 

Irreversible – Gaspar Noe’s 2002 shocking film was highly confrontational to say the least. Containing one of the most brutal scenes ever put on screen in which a woman, played by Monica Bellucci, is raped and beaten, the film was created to be a high intensity experience. In New Zealand the film was initially banned because of the unspeakable crimes it depicts, but such sanction was later revoked and the film was allowed a theatrical release with an advisory warning attached.

 

300 – Offended by its unflattering characterization, the Iranian government banned the film considering it a revolting example of American propaganda. Not satisfied with preventing the film from screening there, Tehran submitted a complaint denouncing the production to UNESCO citing that it misrepresented and hurt the country’s national identity and historical legacy.

 

 
Timbuktu – An anti-Jihadist film that was banned by French Mayor. The town’s mayor Jacques-Alain Bénisti (a member of the Sarkozy’s Union for a Popular Movement) first called the movie, which he had not seen, “an apology for terrorism” and then had it removed Friday from the Cinema City Casino because he feared that young people might take the jihadists for a model.
The world is under continuous transition, but a question still remains unanswered “Is this transition making us free or we remain captive to the stereotype beliefs and mindsets?”
How far is upright banning of an art form, a film correct? If you don’t like it, you don’t watch it…

Give it a thought!

Compiled by: Anurag Pandey