Ajay Devgn approached I&B Ministry to get 'Parched' passed without cuts

Huge embarrassment looms large for the BJP government with one of their own party members from Gujarat filing a PIL against the release of Leena Yadav’s bold and sexually frank film Parched.

Apparently, the film was certified by the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) only after the direct intervention of the I&B Ministry. A  source  from the BJP reveals, “The CBFC was against certifying Parched without cutting the extremely strong sexual language spoken by the female protagonists. But the director Leena Yadav was steadfast in her commitment to not getting even a word cut. She wanted a ‘UA’ certification without any cuts.”

It was here that the film’s producer Ajay Devgn intervened. Apparently, he made calls directly to the Information & Broadcasting Ministry. From the Ministry, it was “suggested” to the CBFC that the film be passed with a UA with no cuts.
Says the source, “While the CBFC agreed to no cuts in Parched they disagreed on the certification. They insisted on an ‘Adults’ certification arguing that the strong sexual language precluded younger audiences from the film.”

Finally, Parched was passed with an ‘A’ certificate and no cuts. However, now with a BJP member questioning the film’s content and language, and asking for a ban, the situation is somewhat embarrassing for the government.

Minister Of State For Information & Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and CBFC’s chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani remained unavailable for comment.