James Gunn’s “Superman” has hit a snag in India – not for motion, however for its romance.

India’s Central Board of Movie Certification (CBFC) eliminated two kiss scenes – most notably a 33-second mid-air kiss – deeming them “overly sensual,” per native reviews, to realize a UA (13+) score earlier than the movie’s July 7 certification. The cuts have fueled a backlash over inconsistent and conservative censorship practices.

On-line reactions captured the temper. Actor Shreya Dhanwanthary (SonyLIV’s “Rip-off 1992,” Prime Video’s “The Household Man”) posted, reacting to reviews of the censorship: “If that is true, that is RIDICULOUS!!! Some ridiculous crap occurs every single day. Each. Rattling. Day. Positive that is the least of our worries however is one thing completed about the rest? There may be some crap every single day. Each. Rattling. Day.”

Digital creator Amol Jamwal wrote on X: “You possibly can have lewd double which means jokes in Housefull 5. Beheadings & gory violence in Jaat However…. Superman kissing Lois Lane is the place we draw the road”

One other consumer on X posted: “CBFC would enable horrific scenes of violence and sexual assault in a U licensed movie that youngsters are freely allowed to observe, however gained’t enable consensual kissing in a U/A comic book e-book film that youngsters ought to watch beneath grownup supervision.”

This isn’t the primary such case this 12 months. “F1“ had a middle-finger emoji changed with a fist, and “Thunderbolts“ was launched in India with muted expletives. The recurring sample has reignited debate over freedom of expression and the CBFC’s broad powers beneath the Cinematograph Act. The CBFC’s certification pointers enshrine freedom of speech and expression however these rights are topic to “cheap restrictions” on varied grounds, together with “decency or morality.”

The 2021 dissolution of the Movie Certification Appellate Tribunal has additional difficult issues, leaving filmmakers with no business recourse in need of authorized appeals by means of India’s excessive courts — a time-consuming and costly course of, notably for worldwide studios with international rollouts.

Selection has reached out to CBFC and Warner Bros. Discovery for remark.