Indian audiences and celebrities like Ashoke Pandit, Shirish Kunder and Chetan Bhagat have trolled the censor board for making James Bond, the famous British spy, to behave like a "Sanskari" man in his latest film in India.
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has been roasted for cutting short kissing scenes between actor Daniel Craig and his leading ladies in the 24th James Bond film, "Spectre".
Some of the cuss words like 'F' and 'a**hole' have also been deleted by the board to give a U/A certificate to the latest 007 film, which is all set to hit Indian screens on Friday.
The kissing scenes of Craig with Monica Bellucci and Lea Seydoux are too extensive, according to the CBFC and have been cut down by 50 percent.
Calls made by IANS to CBFC chairman Pahlaj Nihalani, CEO (additional charge) Manish Desai and board member Ashoke Pandit went unanswered.
Going by the hashtag -- #SanskariJamesBond -- on Twitter, a majority of Indian James Bond fans don't seem to have liked the cuts the CBFC has effected in the latest Bond offering.
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Taking a dig over the issue, filmmaker Pandit, who is also a CBFC board member, tweeted: "#PahlajNihalani has always functioned on his own accord and I don't subscribe to his curtailing of creative rights. #JamesBond #CBFC. #Spectre is an internationally applauded film, but again #PahalajNihalani messes it up by shading it with his own thought process."
"#PahalajNihalani as the Chairman of #CBFC can't behave like an official spokesperson of a political party. #JamesBond #Spectre," he added.
Filmmaker Shirish Kunder shared similar sentiments and posted: "No one knows women better than our Censor Board. They know for exactly how long James Bond has to kiss Monica Bellucci to satisfy her. James Bond's women must be feeling so safe now that our Censor Board is there to protect their 'izzat' and 'aabroo' from that creep."
Author Chetan Bhagat questioned how the CBFC performs.
He wrote: "Heard Censor Board trimmed kiss length in a Bond movie. Wonder how they decide? They all watch and mid way say 'boss, ab yeh jyada ho gaya'."
Not only celebrities, common people too have expressed their anger and disappointment over the CBFC decision.
Here's what Twitterati feels:
Vignesh: Censor Board cuts down the duration of kisses in 'Spectre'. This is what happens when you release your film after Sooraj Barjatya.
Mahesh Langa: Can the Censor Board chief make his list of what is Indian and what is not public so that movies can be made accordingly.
Akshat Ligga: Thanks to the Censor Board, Bond shall call M as 'Babuji' and Moneypenny as 'behen'.
Rajan Lodha: 'Censor Board' of the world's second most populated country has a problem with kissing. Rest assured, we'll never have an Indian #JamesBond.
Still 14: #SanskariJamesBond does not kill enemy agents on Tuesdays, Thursdays and during Nav Ratri.
Atul Khatri: #SanskariJamesBond has a small idol of Ganeshji on the dashboard of his Aston Martin.
The Bad Doctor: #SanskariJamesBond scolds the vamp for wearing short dress and gives her a dupatta to hide her cleavage, before beating up the villain.
Atiya Zaidi: Bond cannot kiss but moms in law can torture, bahus can cook up devious plots, ichadhari nagins, evil murders all over TV #SanskariJamesBond.
Sudhish Kamath: What do 'Spectre' and 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo' have in common? Both are about family bond. #SanskariJamesBond.