Champion release halted by the Censor Board, responding to a complaint by an artist

Posted on February 25, 2016February 17, 2022 by Anand Nepal

The movie scheduled to release next week, ‘Champion’ has been halted by the Censor Board after an artists lodged a complaint against the film makers. According to the report, the issue with the artist should be solved before the Board will make on the decision of granting permission.

Champion controversy background

The ‘Champion’ makers initially announced that the actors Nikhil Upreti and his wife Sanchita Luitel will be featured in the leading role. But, as the shooting time neared, Nikhil couldn’t set aside time for the shooting of the movie and they had to find another actor to lead in the movie. The producer also told that Nikhil wasn’t comfortable in being featured as a cricket player as he wasn’t much familiar with the game.

I wrote about Nikhil being replaced by Dikpal Karki in a previous post. But, now, it is apparent that there was another artist who was promised the role before Dikpal Karki was finalized. According to report, Uddav Nepal was promised the role before Dikpal.Â This information was revealed when Uddav lodged a complaint against the movie to the Film Development Board. In the complaint he has accused the movie producers of not paying him for the work he did and was defamed by the producers.

(Attached video report of the announcement, last month.)

The director BB Phuyal told that Uddav Nepal had told them that he was a cricket player and signed an agreement to do the leading role. But, at the time of shooting he was found not to know the game. Nepal has lodged the complaint based on the agreement document.

Zhigrana releases the scene deleted by Censor Board

Posted on March 4, 2015 by Anand Nepal

We had rightly predicted that the scene would be objected by the Board. The board has asked the film makers to delete the scene but, failed to stop them from distributing it in the internet.

Now, as it is available more widely in the internet, anybody can see the sex scene the Censor Board had found objectionable. The sad truth is, even after deleting the sex scene, the movie is given an ‘A’ certificate, saying it is only suitable for adult audience.

The film production team apparently is not happy by the decision of the Board and has decided to release the scene in YouTube to show that it is not what adults are accustomed to watch. With the video, ‘Zhigrana’ team have also written the definition of ‘A’ certificate and asked the viewers to tell if it was fair.

You can watch the video here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA5WX9fuVZc

Censor Board now includes actress Melina Manandhar and director Suresh Darpan

Posted on May 10, 2014 by Anand Nepal

The Censor Board of Nepal has been criticized for censoring movies unnecessarily. The Minister of Information and Communication, Dr. Minendra Rijal has added three new members in the board. Three new members include the CEO of film distributor, Darshana Arts and director Suresh Darpan Pokharel, actress Melina Manandhar and Bimal Sangraula.

All three new members are the member of Nepali Congress party. By the politics involved, the decision seems to be influenced by the political affiliation rather than making the Board effective.

Bhimdutta finally got the censor clearance

Posted on February 21, 2014February 22, 2014 by Anand Nepal

After an initial glitch, the Censor Board has finally awarded PG certificate to Nawal Khadka‘s movie ‘Bhimdutta’. The movie directed by Himgyap Lama features Nawal as a revolutionary leader, Bhimdutta Pant of Dadeldhura.

The biographical movie made on a historical context features Nawal Khadka, Nisha Adhikari, and Sumina Ghimire in leading roles. The film makers had organized a protest press meet when the Board took time in awarding the censor clearance certificate.

Censor Board couldn’t decide on Bhimdutta

Posted on February 19, 2014February 19, 2014 by Anand Nepal

The Censor Board has decided to do a detailed review of the movie before letting it screen in theater. The Board chief Umakant Parajuli has told that the involvement of the Army and Indian government in the killing of Bhimdutta has to be researched and verified before the movies is allowed to release.

Censor Board going in wrong direction, to censor movie trailers

Posted on February 12, 2014February 12, 2014 by Anand Nepal

We have seen a trend of inserting different scenes and dialogues from the actual movie itself. To make sure that the scenes and dialogues meet the Censor Board requirements, the Board is mulling over the new rules and regulations.

Although we believe, the trailers should be ranked and given a category so that the broadcasters could know if they fit in their targeted audience or not – censoring them is not a solution.

FDB chief Umakanat Parajuli has told that the trailers released before the censor clearance of the movies have created a challenge and credibility of the Board. He is planning to discuss the issue in the Board and tell trailer broadcasting Televisions about the new requirement.

Censor Board eyes Shushma Karki’s tattoo on breast

Posted on September 7, 2013 by Anand Nepal

Time again Nepal’s Censor Board is known for acting on the baseless intuition of it’s members. As many of their decision are not based on facts, a protest or judicial decision help them to change their decision. In a latest case, the Board has decided that the tattoo of sun on actress Sushma Karki‘s breast is against patriotic norms.

The decision was made while censoring a movie featuring Sushma in an item dance in her upcoming movie ‘Rajniti’. Although the movie was awarded a PG certificate, the Board has asked the film makers to remove the portions of the movie featuring the actress’ tattoo.

It was not the first time Sushma has shown the tattoo in movies. The posters of her movie ‘Bindaas’ had her featuring the tattoo. But, the Censor Board hadn’t objected on the tattoo at that time.

Censor board responds to media pressure, Dhuwani awarded PG certificate

Posted on August 9, 2013December 8, 2014 by Anand Nepal

After the pressure from the media, the Censor Board was forced to change it’s decision on censor certificate to the movie ‘Dhuwani’. The censor board had objected to a dialogue in the movie citing the dialogue to create problem with the neighboring countries. Now, the Board has allowed the movie to be screened in theaters with PG certificate. The certificate allows children to watch the movie with adults.

After this incident, it is proved that the Board doesn’t have a clear guideline on censoring movies and they act on personal preferences and intuition. This is not the first time such incident had happened. The movie banned by the Board, ‘ATM‘ was released on July 26 without change after the court found it suitable for the public. With these problems, the Board doesn’t hold any credibility to censor movies.

Dhuwani in Censor problem

Posted on August 1, 2013 by Anand Nepal

The censor board has been criticized for harassing film makers by objecting on non-critical stuffs. One example of the failure of Censor Board is the latest re-release of ‘ATM‘ on the order of court after facing ban from Censor Board for more than half a year.

Now, another movie ‘Dhuwani’ has been stopped by the Censor Board objecting on a simple dialogue. The movie made on girls trafficking in Nepal is objected on a dialogue stating higher demand of Nepali girls in China. The filmmakers say that the statement is based on the report of Maiti Nepal, a NGO working on trafficking.

‘Badhshala’ banned by army, March 8 protested as Black Friday

Posted on March 9, 2013October 29, 2013 by Anand Nepal

Nepali movie ‘Badhshala’ has been banned in Nepal and it is a new record in Nepali movie industry. This is the first time a movie is banned even before it is reviewed by the film reviewing body of the government, Nepal Censor Board.

A protest program was organized in Mandala Theater, Kathmandu to protest against the government of banning a work of art. The artists and supporters were carrying protest slogans. Notable personalities present in the protest were director Yadav Kharel, comedy artist Manoj Gajurel, Manoj KC, and Reema Bishowkarma.

Mausami Malla outburst on Censor Board, Samaya got U rating at last

Posted on February 25, 2013March 12, 2013 by Anand Nepal

After postponing the release of the movie during the strike of film artists, Mausami Malla‘s movie ‘Samaya’ faced hurdles in the Censor Board at the time of it’s release. After negotiations on removing and editing objectionable movie scenes, the movie managed to get an ‘U’ certificate – suitable for the audience of all ages.

'Love You Man' got an 'A' certificate

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Anand Nepal

The movie made on the love story of a gay couple, ‘Love You Man’ is given an ‘A’ certificate by the censor board. ‘A’ certified movies are only suitable for viewers over 16-years old.

The producer Yubaraj Khatri told that the movie passed the censor board hurdle after third attempt. The movie is scheduled to be released on Friday, Dec 7. The movie directed by BB Phuyal features actors Raj Aryan, Suresh Chaudhari and Pranisha Adhikari in leading roles.

ATM banned on the first day of release

Posted on November 23, 2012May 12, 2016 by Anand Nepal

As if the controversy is not enough, the movie ‘ATM‘ is banned after releasing in theaters today. The censor board had censored the movie and ordered the movie team to remove objectionable scenes while giving it an ‘A’ certificate. But, when the movie was released, the officials in the Board found that the production team hadn’t removed the objectionable scenes and had released the un-edited version of the movie.

After the Censor Board directed Home Ministry to stop the show, the screening of the movie has stopped after it’s second show. In response to the government action, producer and actor Dinesh Thapa told that it was technician’s mistake to leave out the censored scenes.Â He told
that the movie will be shown again after removing the objectionable scenes.

ATM, censor board objected 17 percent of the movie

Posted on August 28, 2012January 16, 2013 by Anand Nepal

After the release of an ‘unofficial’ promo of the Nepali movie ‘ATM,’ it was attacked from all direction for the chhada dialogues and sex scenes. After the completion of post production, the censor board has decided that there are too many scenes not suitable for the public.

Out of the total length of about 2 hours, censor board has asked the movie team to removed some 20 minutes, nearly 17 percent of the total movie.

It is not known if the removal of such a long portion will leave anything to be seen in the movie. The censor board chief Sushil Ojha has asked the ATM team to edit all the objectionable scenes before re-submitting the movie for censor certificate.

ATM is produced under the banner of D. Films and directed by Yadav Silwal. The movie features Dinesh Thapa, Jiya KC and others in main roles.

Our views on ATM in Nepali section.
Response of Film Production association and ATM’s producer Dinesh Thapa in Nepali section.
A controversial photo from the movie in Nepali section

Delhi Belly ban in Nepal and Aamir Khan’s reaction

Posted on July 6, 2011July 6, 2011 by Anand Nepal

Aamir Khan’s latest production, Delhi Belly, has been banned in Nepali theaters. Reportedly, the Censor Board of Nepal allowed the theater owners to screen the film after deleting and muting some scenes containing abusive scenes and offensive language. But, the theater owners were found screening the film without deleting the censored scenes. Therefore, the film has been banned and replaced with others movie, since Sunday.

Chetan Sapkota, a Censor Board member, as quoted in Republica, stated, "We issued the certificate on condition that more than five dialogues would be removed. But, we found that the movie was screened without removing them". The punishment for offenders, as per the country’s censorship laws is that, the film’s distributors can either be fined a sum of NRs 10,000 or can be imprisoned for a year or can be penalized with both. However, the theater owners told that they had complied with the order. They told, they need some time, especially for the digital format changes, they had to send the reel back to India.

Marriages in 2014	Friday Release