Saffron Flag censored: Singham Returns asked to tone down religious references

13 Aug 2014

Rohit Shetty-Ajay Devgn's Singham Returns has gone through the censor board, and emerged not unscathed.

One learns from very reliable sources that some crucial religious references pertaining to both the majority and minority community have been asked to be duly deleted before the film was granted a 'UA' (suitable for children accompanied by parents).

But not before some religious symbols were asked to go.

Says a source, "The saffron coloured flag identified with one political-religious group has been replaced. The censor board has asked for the colour of the flag to be changed wherever it was shown to be saffron. The words 'vishwadhaam' and 'pravachan' have been replaced by the word 'vikasdham'. And a religious speech was described as, 'Do kaudi ka pravachan'. This has been replaced by 'faltu ka bhashan.' On the other end, of spectrum a 3 1/2 minute shot at a dargah has been modified by the censor board.

A shot of Ajay Devgn saluting the dargah has also been censored, and so have scenes showing cops pray at the dargah praying en masse.

Says a source, "There is actually a dargah in Mahim in Mumbai which has been adopted by the Mumbai police force. Rohit Shetty and Ajay Devgn have shown this holy place in a wonderful light. However not everyone in the police force goes and prays at this dargah. There were shots that showed a multitudinous congregation of cops praying at the dargah. The censor board felt this visual would have created a false impression in the audiences' mind." As per censorial guidelines pertaining to depiction of religious matter in films, all references to real-life religious institutions and excessive display of religious fervour are to be deleted.

"This is why a shot of Ajay Devgn saluting the dargah has also been removed," says the source.