Spectre kissing scenes ordered to be shortened by Indian film censors

Head of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) Pahlaj Nihalani confirmed the news from Variety, saying: “We have reduced them”.

Lengthy kissing was not Indian, the censors said and the Twitterati, ever ready to pounce on the ridiculous, leapt in with possible ideas for what a Sanskari (traditional) James Bond would do.

Nihlani was soon trolled by the social media users as #SanskariJamesBond started trending on Twitter.

“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.

Despite repeated calls to his office, Mr Nihalani could not be reached for comment. Nihalani’s action should not be a reflection of my choices.

He wrote: “Heard Censor Board trimmed kiss length in a Bond movie”.

Interviewed for the book a few Kind of Hero: The Remarkable Story of the James Bond Films by Matthew Field and Ajay Chowdhury, regular Bond screenwriter Robert Wade suggested that Morgan’s mistake was to veer too close to the style of John le Carré, rather than 007 creator Ian Fleming. Once the director completes his film or documentary it comes to us for further artwork, editing and improvement. “The censor board needs to keep in tune with modern Indian sensibilities”, said the Times of India in an editorial, calling the move “ridiculous…in this day and age”.

Earlier this year the CBFC blocked the release of “Fifty Shades of Grey” in India, despite being shown a toned-down version of the erotic movie. The movie’s release has been delayed in India as Salman Khan’s Prem Ratan Dhan Payo had to occupy most of the theatres in the country. Unlike the Bond films of the days gone by, Craig’s Bond seems more attuned to his feelings developing attachments to those around him.

For a long time the narration cruises in holiday Bond mode, globetrotting between set pieces; from Mexico to London to Rome to Austria to Tangier in Morocco. The Board also asked for profanities to be removed. Despite the whole “stiff upper lip” thing that the chaps at MI6 still deem cool, the Aston Martin and Jaguar used in the film are definitely uber cool.