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Entertainment

EXCLUSIVE: Kanu Behl BREAKS silence on Agra CBFC cuts: “Got NO pushback from Censors; they were really nice to us…they asked me to cut 3 nudity shows; I convinced them about 2 after which only 1 shot was deleted”

2 days ago, Bollywood Hungama reported that Agra, a rare Hindi film to have frontal nudity, had faced cuts from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The frontal nudity scene and the abuses were axed, after which the makers were given an ‘A’ certificate. Bollywood Hungama exclusively spoke to Kanu Behl after Agra didn’t get sufficient shows in cinemas across the country. We then asked him to comment on the censor cuts as well. Kanu Behl said, “I can comment in the context of my film. Thankfully, I got no pushback from the Censors. In fact, they were really nice to us. They loved the film. Whatever changes have been made were done by me personally. All they asked me to do was to cut out 3 shots. They said, ‘We love the film. We don’t want to cut anything out of it. We think it’s a really important film. We are giving you an adults-only certificate. Today, even with an adult rating, you cannot have nudity and profanity’”. Kanu continued, “They asked me to cut 3 nudity shots. I was able to talk to them about two and explain the importance of it. Accordingly, I made small alterations. So, all that was deleted was 1 shot. The abuses were also removed, which I did not object as I did not want to fight that battle because it’s a much bigger structural question. Also, the Committee couldn’t do anything about it. They were really upfront about it and I appreciated that.”When asked about his next film, Kanu Behl replied, “Too early to talk about it. I am not going to give up. I want to keep fighting (for more shows for Agra). I first want to ensure that this film gets the space that it needs and deserves. I also want to start a conversation about independent cinema at large. This system is designed for a monopoly of sad, infantilized films pandering to people’s entertainment. Slowly, that is the only space that is being promoted and that space is cut out for anything else which is not in that zone.”Also Read: EXPLOSIVE: Kanu Behl on multiplexes denying shows to Agra: “We are NOT asking for 1000 screens; we are only asking for 100 good screens. has the rot set so deep that no one just cares anymore? Is it all about Rs. 1000 crores or Rs. 5000 crores?”.

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BusinesscultureEntertainment

EXPLOSIVE: Kanu Behl on multiplexes denying shows to Agra: “We are NOT asking for 1000 screens; we are only asking for 100 good screens…has the rot set so deep that no one just cares anymore? Is it all about Rs. 1000 crores or Rs. 5000 crores?”

It’s common to hear about independent and niche films not getting the desired shows in cinemas nowadays. Some filmmakers are too apprehensive to raise their voice. But Kanu Behl decided not to take things lying down. On Thursday, November 13, he posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account that his film Agra has been denied shows due to so-called ‘big blockbusters’ and because the small films don’t fit into multiplex programming. On the morning of November 14, the day Agra released, he uploaded a screenshot of the number of shows secured by his film in Mumbai. His film was played in just 3 cinemas with 4 shows. Kanu’s caption for this picture was ‘slow claps’. After he raised his voice, many from the industry like Manoj Bajpayee, Saiyami Kher, Sudhir Mishra etc came out in support. On November 15, after Kanu’s relentless fight, Agra is now playing in 9 cinemas in Mumbai. But the battle is far from over. In the evening of November 14, Bollywood Hungama exclusively spoke to Kanu to further understand the issue. When asked when he realized that Agra is being denied shows, he said, “I was a part of this conversation in peripheral ways since I am the director. I didn’t know upfront. 2 weeks back, we got the initial list of about 100 screens, out of which 9 belonged to PVR Inox. It was quite less. I insisted that we need to start cracking better cinemas. But the process got delayed and we didn’t hear anything. On Thursday night, I was told that shows nahin mil raha hai as all the shows were given to the bigger films. I don’t want to take names; I am not against any film. What we heard eventually was that we were not getting the shows. That’s when I started talking about it.” Agra has been distributed by Mantra Luminosity. Did Kanu Behl try to reach out to the theatres directly? Kanu replied, “I didn’t have direct communication with them. I only heard through my team. Generally, what we heard is that ‘A film like Agra doesn’t fit into our programming’ and ‘There’s a bigger film out there and everybody is going out for it’. But my point is that we are a country of 5000-6000 screens. We are not asking for 1000 screens or even 500 screens. We are only asking for 100 good screens. Why can’t we get 100 good screens that are accessible and are at a convenient time so that people can sample the film? If they like it, then the word of mouth will spread. Hence, we are not making an exorbitant ask.”Did the social media posts of Kanu Behl help in any way? After all, the fact that it got 9 shows in Mumbai on Saturday was thanks to his tweets. Or else, the number of shows might have reduced further on Saturday. Kanu explained, “Yes, but even if you notice, there are no shows in big chains yet. We are now trying to add as many shows as possible. But this whole thing about the big chains having a monopoly is a real issue. It doesn’t concern only me or my film Agra. It is an issue of the independent filmmaking community at large.”Kanu Behl said that he would continue to make efforts to get justice, “We are going to keep fighting. It’s time to talk and start this conversation. This keeps happening again and again in every film. If you remember, even All We Imagine As Light suffered the same problem. The same thing happened to Homebound, maybe to a lesser extent, because Dharma was involved. But every time an independent film was released, whether Sabar Bonda or Jugnuma, this happens. Until now, everyone was talking individually. Now, all of us independent filmmakers are coming together, and we are going to raise our voices collectively.”A few netizens asked Kanu Behl on X to release Agra directly on OTT. Kanu told them that a mafia exists even in that space. When asked if the OTT rights have been sold, Kanu Behl replied, “The rights have not been sold. But my question is, why not theatres? Why should my film also go directly into the black hole called OTT? A film of this sort just gets dumped on a streaming platform without any promotion. Do people even know that those films exist? Has the decay of our culture gotten so bad and has the rot set so deep that no one just cares anymore? Is it all about Rs. 100 crores or Rs. 1000 crores or Rs. 5000 crores? When we are on our deathbed, will we remember the amount of money we earned or the quality of lives we lived and the people that matter to us? When will this shameless capitalist consumerist activity stop? When will we put an end to it?”Also Read: Kanu Behl urges audience to speak up as Agra struggles for shows amid ‘big blockbuster’ dominance.

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general

EXCLUSIVE: Single Salma releases VPF-free at PVR Inox, Star Studio18 plays ‘Avatar’ card with Cinepolis; miraculous Gujarati hit Laalo gets VPF-waiver for THIS reason

On Thursday, October 30, Bollywood Hungama exclusively reported that after Jolly LLB 3, Star Studio18 once again got into a tiff with national multiplex chains on paying Virtual Print Fee (VPF), this time over their latest release, Single Salma, starring Huma Qureshi. Bollywood Hungama will now update readers on what happened after the article was published. A trade source told us, “The discussions went on till late Thursday night. Star Studio18 once again reminded the multiplexes about their agreement that they would pay VPF only until 2024. Though they paid VPF under protest at the last minute in the case of Jolly LLB 3, they made it clear that they would not do the same for Single Salma. Last time, PVR Inox hit back and even suspended the advance bookings of Jolly LLB 3. However, this time, they didn’t object as the Competition Commission of India (CCI) investigation is undergoing. Hence, Single Salman released in the properties of PVR Inox without VPF, a rare Hindi film to have this feat.”On September 30, 2025, CCI directed an investigation against PVR INOX Limited over allegations of abusing its dominant position by continuing to levy the VPF on film producers. The CCI has ordered its Director General to launch a detailed probe into PVR’s practices, and submit its report in 90 days. The trade source continued, “On the other hand, the third major national chain, Cinepolis, refused to release Single Salma without VPF. This is when Star Studio18, used their trump card Avatar: Fire And Ash. They reminded Cinepolis that if Single Salma is not released in their properties, then they would release the biggest Hollywood film of the year, scheduled for a release on December 19, in Cinepolis only if the multiplex chain agrees to pay them 65% of the revenue. This is more than the standard revenue shared with the producers in the first week, which is around 52. 5%. Yet, Cinepolis didn’t budge, possibly hoping that by the time Avatar: Fire And Ash is around release, a solution to it could be found. This is how Single Salma got a release in PVR Inox but not in Cinepolis.”How Laalo got VPF-free releaseEven regional films have to pay VPF and recently, one more film also got a chance to be screened VPF-free the Gujarati film, Laalo Krishna Sada Sahaayate. It was released in the dull pre-Diwali period, on October 10. The awareness was negligible and moreover, it starred new faces. As a result, it barely got any audience initially. However, almost 2 weeks later, in a miraculous and inexplicable turn of events, the word of mouth spread and gradually, it began to attract moviegoers in hordes. Videos on social media show viewers dancing and celebrating in cinemas during the shows of Laalo. The weekend gone by has been the best for the film and it was probably the highest performing film in Gujarat. Rajhans Cinema at Precia, Surat will play a record 20 shows a day from Monday, November 3. Many other cinemas in Gujarat are playing more than 10 shows in their properties, which shows the insane demand for the film. Even Mumbai performed well. Laalo, which is made at a meagre budget of just Rs. 50 lakhs, is now all set to earn Rs. 5 crores or even more.#Laalo Gujarati film winning hearts across Guj. Released on 10th Oct & removed frm Cinemas within a week. Laalo is now back with a bang housefull shows everywhere & more shows being added. 2 Guj Movies #ChaniyaToli & #Laalo are ruling the BO across Guj. See the Audience. pic. twitter. com/bT9ASYNiVw- Gaurav Mishra???????? (@Gaurav_5599) November 2, 2025 A Gujarati industry insider revealed, “Initially, the distributor, Rupam Entertainment, asked multiplexes to showcase Laalo. But since the film had no buzz, several theatres rejected it. When the demand for the film suddenly rose, all the theatre chains ran towards the distributor and asked him for the film’s print. The distributor realized that he had an upper hand since the cinemas in Gujarat were extremely desperate to play Laalo. After all, the film was guaranteeing them sold-out shows.”The insider continued, “As a result, the distributor agreed to give them the film on two conditions since it would be the first week of the film in their theatre, he should be paid the first week terms. In short, the distributor would get a higher percentage. His second condition was that the producer would not pay VPF. The multiplexes were fine with the first condition. But they had reservations on the VPF. But the distributor was firm on the demand as the film was made on a modest budget and VPF would add to the burden on the producer. The multiplexes knew that if they didn’t screen the film, it would be their loss. Hence, they agreed to both demands.”To concludeBoth these instances can go a long way in making the case of the producers strong, who have been long demanding that the practice of VPF should end. The industry and trade now await the next development on this front. Also Read: Huma Qureshi calls out lack of shows for her film Single Salma.

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