Director Pavan Kripalani of psychological thriller Phobia, releasing on May 27 in India, says he was petrified before showing it to the censor board, but the film came bak with zero cuts.
“I was really worried about how the censors will react because it is thematically an adult film. So I was really worried that they might say cut the movie or do this, do that. When they saw the movie, they called me in and said that the movie was really engaging, really intense and they felt that they can’t cut one single thing from the movie.
“They said it is such a strong film that if we cut it, we dilute the experience for the audience, so we’re giving you zero cuts. That was a big moment for me and my team because we were glad that our censor board, who are usually very strict on content and have a certain clear view on how they look at movies and what should go for the public, were very encouraging for the movie,” said Kripalani.
Films such as Mastizaade and Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3 were some of the films that had to face the censor board’s wrath recently, who suggested numerous cuts to the film.
The snipping of a kissing scene in the James Bond film Spectre and Prakash Jha’s troubles with them for Jai Gangaajal were some incidents which made news.
The Ragini MMS director added: “I’m glad they accepted it, saw what it was trying to say, I feel extremely lucky. I was petrified going in, but they really surprised me.”
Phobia stars Radhika Apte, who plays an agoraphobic in the film.
About the film, Kriplani said: “We have tried something really different, we’re doing a psychological thriller in the industry after a very long time. I feel that it is more than just a horror film, it’s not a scary movie, it has moments of scare, but largely it’s a thriller. There is a lot of thrill, suspense, mystery as well as an awareness that it is trying to bring about.”
