Welcome to the Jungle censored: Disha Patani & Jacqueline Fernandez’s sensual scenes cut; CBFC approves film after 18 cuts; fans call for OTT release

Seems like the CBFC is sitting with scissors and on a cutting spree. Akshay Kumar, Raveena Tandon and Disha Patani-starrer film, after facing significant production hurdles that delayed the movie’s release by about two and a half years after it went on floors in December 2023, director Ahmed Khan’s highly anticipated multi-starrer Welcome to the Jungle is set to hit screens on Friday, and the third instalment has over 18 cuts.

As per reports, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has demanded a total of 18 cuts in the movie, including a reference to Kashmir and certain sensual and cosy frames featuring actors Disha Patani and Jacqueline Fernandez. The movie was subsequently given a UA 16+ certificate with a runtime of 2 hours and 44 minutes.

List of 18 cuts and modifications by the CBFC

According to Variety India, the CBFC has requested alterations or deletions of phrases or words it deemed potentially sensitive, political, or crude. While dialogues such as “paani of Kashmir” and “desh ki tatti” were deleted completely, the board also demanded that military terminologies such as “Gorkha Regiment” and “General” be replaced with “Tum army se ho?” and “Officer/Sir,” respectively, throughout the movie.

The cuts specifically included sensual bikini visuals, close-up shots of women’s hips, and certain hip-movement visuals in a song, wherever they occurred. The CBFC has also demanded the removal of sensual visuals featuring Disha and Jacqueline. Furthermore, a shot featuring a vulgar hand gesture was replaced with a close-up shot of actor Vindu Dara Singh.

The replaced dialogues include, “Kala paida hua hai… koyla hai (He was born dark like coal),” which was modified to, “Saadah paida hua… namoona hua hai (He was born a simpleton).” “Yaad karo kurbani, muh mein bhar lo paani (Remember the sacrifice and fill your mouth with water),” was changed to, “Suno sunata hoon kahani, jo shaheed hone jaa raha tha, uske muh mein bhar lo paan (Listen to my tale, paan in the mouth of those who were about to sacrifice themselves).” A dialogue that goes “Desh ki tatti (The country’s poop)” was also changed, as was “Izzat le lo (Take away my dignity).”

“Na Diya” and “Paani of Kashmir” were deleted, as was the word “screwed” from the subtitles. “Azarudden” was changed to “Allaudin”, “andha” (blind) was replaced with “dheela” (loose), “Gorkha Regiment” was changed to “Tum army se ho? (Are you from the army?),” and “General” was replaced with “Officer” or “Sir”.

Netizens werent happy with the cuts and urged the filmmaker to drop the uncut version on OTT; many even joked that CBFC will henceforth

Produced jointly by Firoz A. Nadiadwallah, Rakesh Dang and Vedant Vikaas Baali, Welcome to the Jungle features cinematography by Kabir Lal, editing by Nitin FCP, and music by Vikram Montrose, Talwiinder, NDS, Anand Raaj Anand, and Sajid-Wajid.

The third instalment in the Welcome film series, Welcome to the Jungle features Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Disha Patani, Jacqueline Fernandez, Arshad Warsi, Jackie Shroff, Paresh Rawal, Raveena Tandon and many more.