Censor Board learns from Oppenheimer's mistake, removes scene related to Lord Krishna from Hugh Grant's Heretic

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is extremely careful especially when it comes to the portrayal of religious deities in cinema. The CBFC has recently given an A certificate to Hugh Grant's upcoming Hollywood psychological horror film 'Heretic'. However, the CBFC has also ordered two cuts in the film. This includes the order to remove the scene containing inappropriate information about the Hindu deity Lord Krishna.

Both the seven-second dialogue and scene related to Lord Krishna in 'Heretic' have been censored. An eight-second scene showing Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant) throwing religious books has also been ordered to be removed. After the mandatory cuts, 'Heretic' was given an 'A' certificate by the CBFC on November 27.

Commenting on these cuts, an industry expert said, "The CBFC is cautious when it comes to scenes about religious figures and deities, especially after the Oppenheimer (2023) episode." The Christopher Nolan-directed film featured the Bhagavad Gita in a controversial scene and was widely criticized when it was passed by the CBFC.

Despite the success of 'Pushpa 2: The Rule' at the box office, two films from Hollywood have managed to get screens for their releases. One is 'The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim', whereas the other is 'Heretic'. Both films were released this Friday, December 13. While 'Kraven the Hunter' was set to release on Christmas this year, it was rescheduled to January 1, 2025, due to the shortage of screens because of high demand for Allu Arjun's film.

Written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, the psychological horror 'Heretic' had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8. In the film, Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East play two Mormon missionaries who, on their mission to convert people, discover a secluded man played by Grant. However, things turn out to be much worse than they had thought.