CBFC ISSUES MORE THAN 45 CUTS IN FILM ON CHILD TRAFFICKING STARRING MANOJ BAJPAYEE

A star cast so powerful that you wouldn't want to miss even a second of the film is what Love Sonia promises with Manoj Bajpayee, Richa Chadha, Rajkummar Rao, Freida Pinto and TV actor Mrunal Thakur in lead roles. This hard-hitting film on chid trafficking and the sex trade, however, has unfortunately been issued more than 45 cuts by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

The highly-anticipated film, which is reportedly backed by Priyanka Chopra, tells the story of a village girl stuck in the flesh trade.

Now, after 45 cuts, the film has been given an 'A' certificate. This is surprising, considering the CBFC's emphasis on how films certified 'A' will not be subject to cuts. It also brings into question how effective a film about such a subject can be when the sequences about abuse themselves are shortened.

It is said that director Tabrez Noorani spent 12 years waiting to make Love Sonia, as he used that time to research, visit brothels and work with NGOs to save children from the flesh trade. "Love Sonia is the film I’ve always wanted to direct... The only significant film I’ve seen on human trafficking is Lukas Moodysson’s Lilya 4-ever. Otherwise, Indian films on the theme, like Nagesh Kukunoor’s Laxmi and Pradeep Sarkar’s Mardaanido, do not have the bandwidth to make a broad impact," said Noorani, speaking about how justice has not been done to the subject of human trafficking in cinema.

Well, even after Nihalani's exit, it seems CBFC is in no mood to give a green signal to power-packed films which Indian audience needs to watch and learn from. It's sad for the makers as well as for the lovers of true cinema