The trailer for ‘Doosra’ has set people talking, mostly because the story isn’t told in the usual way. Alongside a return to Sourav Ganguly’s unforgettable moment after India’s historic win over England in the 2002 NatWest Series final, the film tracks a second story: that of Tara (Plabita Borthakur), a young girl raised in a deeply conservative home in Rajasthan. A subject like this would normally earn a ‘U’ or ‘U/A’ certificate, but the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) gave it an ‘A’. What stands out is that director Abhinay Deo was fine with the adult rating and refused to make certain cuts.
How ‘Doosra’ ended up with an ‘A’ certificate
In a conversation with Bollywood Hungama, Abhinay was asked how ‘Doosra’ obtained its CBFC certificate. He recalled being present at the censor screening, where the board asked him which rating he was aiming for. He proposed U/A, and the board was open to it, but wanted three scenes removed. That’s when Abhinay made his stand clear. In his words, “It’s an adult-rated movie due to a few scenes. I was there at the censor screening and they asked me, ‘What rating do you want?’. I suggested a U/A rating. They agreed but asked us to cut 3 scenes. I told them, ‘If we can get the film passed with an A-rating and without a cut, I won’t mind’. They said, ‘If you are okay with adult-rating, we won’t cut a single shot’. I agreed. It’s an achievement as nowadays, even films with ‘A’ have to go through cuts.”
The nude magazine shot in Doosra that the censors spared
One of the scenes that pushed Doosra into ‘A’ territory has Tara’s father (Ankur Vikal) catching her, as a child, with an adult magazine. The camera lingers for around two seconds on a clearly visible nude photograph of a woman. Nudity is something the CBFC has frequently clamped down on, with plenty of films forced to make cuts for similar content. In this instance, however, the board left the shot completely untouched.
Why Abhinay Deo refused to cut scenes from ‘Doosra’
Deo explained why he wouldn’t budge on the scenes the board flagged. “Those 2-3 shots, which they wanted to cut, were integral to the film. One was the magazine shot. Then, we had a reference where we touched upon the Babri Masjid episode. They told me, ‘Thoda kam kar do, change kar do’. I confessed that I didn’t want to touch the film.” When asked whether he worried that the adult certificate might cost him the under-18 audience, the director was clear that it didn’t concern him. He replied, “No, because this is not a film for teenagers to watch, though it is relevant to them.”
‘Doosra’ release date
The film ‘Doosra’ will have its theatrical release on October 23.