NEW DELHI / MUMBAI: The Oscar-winning Hollywood film The Danish Girl, which had been released in theatres in the country in January 2016 with an ‘Adults only’ certificate and no cut, has been denied its television premiere in India on Sony Le PLEX HD channel.
A Central Bureau of Film Certification (CBFC) source said that TV channels are generally not permitted to screen films with ‘A’ certificate, but can apply for a fresh certificate whereby some scenes found offensive can be sliced and the film screened with a ‘U/A’ certificate.
The internationally-acclaimed film's theme is loosely based on the story of Lili Elbe, a 1920s painter who was born into a man's body as Einar Wegener and underwent the first gender confirmation surgery in the world.
The CBFC source said this theme was unsuitable for viewing by the Indian TV audience, particularly children. As to why the route of suggesting cuts was not recommended to the rights-holders or the TV channel, the source said that it was difficult to edit a film when the subject itself is so controversial and unsuitable for TV viewing.
The film had been slated for telecast on Sunday evening, and the Sony Network channel Sony Le PLEX HD sent out a tweet apologising for being unable to telecast the film as the necessary certification had not been received. But, the channel promised to keep up efforts to get the certification and inform the viewers. Even as it regretted any inconvenience caused.
The Danish Girl is a 2015 British-American biographical romantic drama film directed by Tom Hooper, based on the 2000 fictional novel of the same name by David Ebershoff and loosely inspired by the lives of Danish painters Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener.
The film stars Eddie Redmayne as Elbe, one of the first known recipients of sex reassignment surgery. Others in the film are Alicia Vikander, Ben Whishaw, Sebastian Koch, Amber Heard, and Matthias Schoenaerts.
On its Twitter handle, Sony stated:
Sony Le PLEX HD @SonyLePLEXHD Mar 24
We know how much you wished to watch The Danish Girl this Sunday & regret the inconvenience caused. We thank you for your constant support.
Also Read:
CBFC won't 'chill'; Pan Bahar 'Bond' ad banned
No plans to regulate TV content through CBFC: MIB
