'Welcome to the Jungle' cleared by CBFC after 18 cuts
What's the story
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has cleared the upcoming comedy film Welcome to the Jungle with a U/A 16+ certificate. However, this approval came after extensive changes were made to the movie's dialogue and visuals, including a total of 18 cuts. The alterations were made for sensitive political or crude language and military references.
Dialogue changes
Multiple dialogues were altered
The CBFC made significant changes to the Akshay Kumar-led film's dialogue. As per Variety India, a line referring to "Paani of Kashmir" was deleted, along with the phrase "desh ki tatti." Military-related words were also changed, with "Gorkha Regiment" being replaced by "Tum army se ho?" and "Officer" or "Sir" being substituted for "General." Other comedic dialogues were modified, such as changing "Kaala paida hua hai, koyla hai" to "saadah paida hua hai, namoona hua hai."
Further alterations
Bikini visuals, close-up shots of women were deleted
Additional dialogue changes include "Yaad karo kurbani, munh mein bhar lo paani" being changed to "Jo shaheed hone ja raha tha, uske munh mein bhar lo paani." The word "screwed" was also replaced in two instances. A 10-second scene with the phrase "na diya" has been completely deleted. On the visual front, filmmakers had to delete and replace sensual bikini visuals, close-up shots of women's hips, and specific hip-movement choreography wherever they occurred in the tracks.
Final details
The film's final runtime has been revealed
The visual deletions also included a vulgar hand gesture by Vindu Dara Singh in one scene, which was replaced with a close-up shot of the actor. Despite the extensive changes, Welcome to the Jungle remains a long film. The official censor certificate confirms that it has been locked at a final runtime of 164.50 minutes, which translates to two hours, 44 minutes, and 50 seconds for theatrical release.