U/A for 'The Jungle Book' leaves Indian audience amused

Indias censor board chief Pahlaj Nihalanis decision to certify Jon Favreaus The Jungle Book as a scary movie fit for children to watch only under parental supervision has led the audience to question whether its because the animals are naked while celebrities are left wondering about the criteria of the certificationThe Jungle Book PicSanta BantaIron Man fame director Jon Favreau took a basic structure of Rudyard Kiplings timeless classic and charged it up with the power of the 1967 animation film to bring forth an advanced version of the story backed with technologyIt features IndianAmerican child artist Neel Sethi and will make its way onto the screens in India on Friday a week before its release in the US where too the movie has been given a PG Parental Guidance ratingSorry guys Jungle Book got a UA certificate And they cut the Kaa and Baloo kiss Also the Sher Khan and Col Hathi sex scene actorcomedian Vir Das tweetedIn the same vein Wazir actress Aditi Rao Hydari said There are lot more frightening things in other movies than just special effects I am not very sure about what the criteria of the certification is I think there are so many films that should not be watched by lot of people We really need a better certification systemA Twitter user was amused by the decision as she shared What happened to Pahlaj Nihalani UA certificate to Jungle Book Thank god its not A Non of the chimps monkeys hyenas wearing clothes while another shared that Pahlaj Nihalani has given Jungle Book a UA certificate So many naked animals in the jungle must have really upset himThere were others tooSo kids target audience for the movie cannot watch JungleBook because PahlajNihalani thinks its too scary posted one while another shared Pahlaj Nihalani never fails to amuse me he is better than any stand up comedian across the globe Now Jungle Book us UA because its scaryIn a justification of his decision Nihalani who has faced the ire of many for his strict censor regulations told a popular daily Please dont go by the reputation of the book See the film and then decide on the suitability of the content for kids The 3D effects are so scary that the animals seem to jump right at the audienceFavreau had earlier told IANS that while the story is woven with a splash of dark tones he has ensured that it is childfriendlyHe said I am a dad of three kids and I want to make sure that it is something that my kids would be comfortable in seeing But that doesnt mean you cant scare them sometimes a little bit You know what I mean the bad guy has to badA source from the industry shared that while the certification did not come as a shock the CBFC chiefs reasoning was startlingAnyway kids cant go and watch the film alone They will be accompanied by their parents so the certification is fine In fact US has also given it a PG rating the source saidMany came to Nihalanis defenceStandup comedian Atul Khatri shared Are you sending your 12yearold alone to watch movies in theatres in India No na Then STFU JungleBookA Twitter user made the point clear with a string of tweets saying You guys have the strangest double standards Ive ever seen The Jungle Book also has a PG rating in the US just so you know Suggesting parental guidance for a film that may scare younger viewers is quite fair IMO if we must have a ratingscensorship body ieUA doesnt mean kids arent allowed in theatres it just means they need to come with parents Which they do Not that rules are enforced I realise its fashionable to bash Pahlaj Nihalani and yes it is justified 999 of the time but lets not stop being judiciousAnother social media user tweeted All those mocking PahlajNihalanis statement about TheJungleBook see what US and Canadian ratings system sayThe film is supported by a stellar cast including Bill Murray Ben Kingsley Idris Elba Lupita Nyongo Scarlett Johansson and Christopher Walken And its Hindi dubbed version for the Indian audience is voiced by a string of popular Bollywood stars including names like Priyanka Chopra and Irrfan Khan