Madhur Bhandarkar scared of Censors for Calendar Girls

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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USA: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…Calendar Girls is set to release on August 7 and the reverse countdown has begun as exactly four months remain for Madhur Bhandarkar's next outing to be unveiled. Scandalous, sizzling and scintillating could well be the adjectives to define the film which talks about the journey of girls who go on to become calendar girls. While the treatment is touted to be pretty much on the lines of what a Bhandarkar film warrants, the director is still a worried lot. Reason? His film now has to gear up for its tryst with the Censors and the current environment at the Board doesn't seem conducive enough to ensure a smooth ride.

"Yes, Madhur sir is indeed worried," informs a senior crew member, "Even though he has voluntarily kept the narrative balanced without going overboard in his portrayal of the life and times of the calendar girls, the subject itself warrants that there are some truths – some sizzling, some bitter and some downright shocking – that need to be told."

Apparently, while some of the scenes would make one look at the screen in disbelief, there are visual and language elements that are giving Bhandarkar sleepless nights. Well, not from the integrity perspective, since he is convinced that these are required for the film, but the manner in which Censors are operating today with cuts and bans galore.

"For a film with glamour element, it is pretty much inherent that the visuals would need skin show to a good extent. Moreover, with the kind of high pressure environment that prevails in the world of modeling, it is bound to invite a few cuss words as well. However, since Censors are trigger-happy these days, you never know who gets hit when, where and for what reason," rues the crew member.
On his hand, Madhur made sure that there are no smoking scenes as he knew that with all the warning signs, the scene would get diluted. However a year back, when he started filming Calendar Girls, he could hardly fathom that the scene would only get further disintegrated instead of progressing over the months.

"He is worried more about the authenticity of the drama that would remain, in case of cuts, rather than the commercial gains that may take a possible hit in case there are any Censor troubles ahead," an insider adds, "After all, Calendar Girls is made for just a budget of Rs. 9 crores, which means the film is anyways in the green zone. It is basically his sensibility as a seasoned director that is making him wonder how to go about making powers that be understand what is actually truly relevant for the film."

We tried to gain more insights from the man in question but he didn't respond to our queries. Perhaps he is already gearing up for his big battle ahead.

Article written by staff at Bollywood Hungama. Read more