CBFC chops words like ‘pradhan mantri’ and ‘chaiwala’ from Murderbaad before granting it A certificate

(From left) Manish Chaudhari and Kanikka Kapur in the film

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is at it again. This time, it has pulled out its scissors for Murderbaad, a thriller starring Sharib Hashmi and Manish Chaudhari. Despite the film being given an ‘A' certificate, director Arnab Chatterjee was instructed to remove the words ‘pradhan mantri' and ‘chaiwala' from
a dialogue.

In the scene, Hashmi's character jokingly tells a tea vendor that he will buy his shop off, to which the latter retorts that the day such an incident takes place, he shall be the prime minister. A source reveals, "It was deemed offensive by many people in the viewing committee. Since it wasn't an important plot point, everyone felt it would be safer to do away with it. The film was given an ‘A' certificate."

Chatterjee confirms the development and adds that the lines were imagined as harmless banter between the two characters. He says, "The dialogues are written by me. According to me, it was an absolutely benign joke, rather aspirational for the lower-middle class of our country, and far away from any political stance. We've made the changes as we respect the standpoint of the committee."