Ep. 285 - Censorship in films with Ajit Rai (Hindi)

·55 min·5 clips

Justice Potter Stewart said censorship reflects society's lack of confidence—Ajit Rai explores what that means for Indian films.

The episode opens with a definition problem. Kedar Nimkar places censorship inside a broader worry about artists, intellectuals, and a society that does not seem fully sure of itself. Ajit Rai answers with examples, which suits the topic. He does not treat bans as random outrage machines. He ties them to media hype, publicity incentives, and the way certification works in the first place. The pressure feels oddly large. The host asks why films draw so much force when politicians often treat cinema as a small thing. Rai points to who gets to make these calls. His answer is plain enough: the CBFC should include people who understand the film industry business from the inside. Then the conversation gets sharper. Rai argues that Indian society often treats sexual content as more harmful than violent spectacle. Dabang is his test case. He describes Salman Khan beating goons in a way that disturbs him, then contrasts India's UA certificate with adult treatment in America, Britain, and other places where these films have gone. Oh My God 2 makes the point stranger. Rai says the film faced 27 cuts in India but only a single cut in Muslim countries. That contrast does most of the work. Different societies put danger in different places. Rai thinks violence gets let off too easily. He says that, in world cinema history, bans have more often followed violence than sex. He also brings in psychologists and sociologists, who worry about violent imagery and younger minds. The ending turns practical: freedom needs discipline, knowledge, happiness, and maturity if people are going to decide what to watch and what to think about.

As heard by us

A grounded Hindi-led conversation on censorship, film certification, and how Indian society weighs sex, violence, and public confidence.

Censorship is framed here less as a narrow fight over what can appear on screen than as a test of social confidence. Audio Gyan's bilingual, mostly Hindi conversation with Ajit Rai moves through demands to ban or trim films, the makeup and purpose of the CBFC, and the wider…

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Why you'd press play

You want to think harder about censorship, film bans, and the line between sex, violence, and politics.

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