he Censorboard is becoming progressively irrational and self-contradictory. The latest censorial salvo truly takes the cake.

Apoorva Lakhia's Zanjeer has been granted two different certifications in Hindi and Telugu when in fact both the versions are nearly-identical.


While Hindi version of Zanjeer has been granted a 'UA' Certificate the Telugu version has been given 'UA'. This is to say that the same film with near-identical content is suited to an audience comprising parents and children in Hindi but only suited for parents in Telugu.

How does one explain this incongruity?
Says a source, `We have nearly the same content in both the Telugu and Hindi. The scenes are occasionally shifted around. But the content is essentially the same in Telugu except for an additional song. And yet the censor board wanted 52 cuts-yes, 52!-in Telugu if it was to be granted a 'UA' certificate.`

The cuts demanded in the Telugu version of Zanjeer(Thoofan) included close-ups of Priyanka Chopra and Kavita Kaushik's belly in the songs Pinky and Shakeela Bano, respectively.


Since Ramcharan Teja has a massive fan-following among children in Andhra Pradesh I wondered how this irrational segregation between the Hindi and Telugu versions would affect Ramcharan's younger fans.

When we asked a friend of Ramcharan about it the friend sounded unperturbed as he said, `Oh, Ram is not bothered at all. All his 4 Telugu releases so far have got 'A' certificates. The trend is upheld in his Hindi debut as well.`