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SS Rajamouli's Baahubali 2 gets 'A' certificate in Singapore
Baahubali 2 is not accessible to any viewership under the age of 16 in Singapore.
Baahubali 2 - by now we all know that it's an epic, larger-than-life and a box office success. It has broken all kind of barriers and is all set to earn INR 1500 crore at the global market. But, now, there's something that will shock you completely. According to a report in a leading daily, the Singapore censor board has granted Baahubali 2: The Conclusion an NC16 certification, which means the film is not accessible to any viewership under the age of 16.
Pahlaj Nihalani, chairperson, Central Board of Film Certification, "We granted Baahubali 2: The Conclusion a ‘UA’ with virtually no cuts. In Singapore, they found Baahubali too violent. The war scenes, especially of soldiers being beheaded, were taken to be excessively gruesome by their censor board. In many countries of Asia and Europe, more Bollywood films get ‘A’ certificate than we do in India."
He added, "Our mythology and religious scriptures have a lot of violent images of rakshasas being beheaded, etc. So, our children grow up hearing these tales of violence. They are not scared by mythological mayhem. Also, in India censorship is about pacifying sentiments rather than doing the right things. If we cut one shot of a beheading we are branded anti-religious. If we shorten the duration of a kiss we are prudes. And if we delete a shot of boy masturbating another boy (in Moonlight) we are branded homophobic."
Talking about the success, in an interview, producer Shobu Yarlagadda said, "We knew the film will be a success, but the speed and rate of its achievement have taken us by surprise. It's a combination of a good story and emotions rooted in Indian storytelling, a larger-than-life canvas, great action made possible with great sets and VFX and technical values like photography, sound and music."
Explaining the reach of Hindi version, Shobu said, "Good cinema with a universal theme and emotions, when presented in the right manner, should work in any language or territory. Baahubali is a case in point. It is not region-centric and broadly Indian in theme and content. Technically it's well made and care has been taken to ensure that the dialogues and lyrics in every language are well written and the dubbing is good. Moreover, our partnership with Karan Johar and Dharma Films and a solid distributor like Anil Thadani of AA Films ensured that we got a release comparable to that of any big Hindi films. As you can see, Hindi — and for that matter, a pan-India release — was not an afterthought, but a well thought through strategy, and the results are showing in the box office success."
Talking about Karan Johar and Anil Thadani's contributions, Shobu went on to say, "I think both of them played a crucial role in taking the film and connecting it to Hindi audience. Dharma and Karan Johar's name and him talking about the film and presenting it as India's biggest motion picture got us the necessary attention. This along with Anil's solid distribution experience ensured the results for both Baahubali: The Beginning, and The Conclusion."
Have you watched Baahubali 2?
