Feb 19, 2026 4:48pm IST
‘Kennedy’ Cleared With Cuts: Donald Trump Changed to Pump Trump, Dawood Ibrahim References Removed
Kennedy, directed by Anurag Kashyap, has finally found a release date in India after remaining in limbo for over two years and touring multiple festival circuits. The film, which is set to premiere directly on digital on ZEE5 tomorrow, has reportedly undergone censor cuts, with several elements altered or removed. Among the most notable changes, references to Donald Trump have reportedly been changed to “Pump Trump,” while mentions of Dawood Ibrahim have been replaced with “Pakistan Don.”
According to reports by News18, the film underwent multiple modifications to obtain certification from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Although the film received an ‘A’ certificate, the board asked the makers to mute abusive language such as “motherf*****.” References to Donald Trump were altered to “Pump Trump,” and all visuals and dialogue referring to Dawood Ibrahim were removed and replaced with “Pakistan Don.”
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The CBFC also advised the makers to include an anti-smoking disclaimer in every scene featuring characters smoking on screen. In addition, a 14-second scene containing the dialogue “Matunga, Matunga… Pungi bajaao” was removed.
“Kennedy,” which received its ‘A’ certification on November 23, 2023, has a runtime of 148 minutes and 54 seconds (2 hours, 28 minutes, 54 seconds).
Meanwhile, Sunny Leone recently spoke to Variety India about the long delay in the film’s release and whether it still feels relevant. “Because it was shot during COVID, I think that hangover is still lingering in people’s hearts. It’s still fresh what everyone went through. This is a fictional story, but it’s definitely going to hit people in different ways depending on how they view things. I don’t think the themes in the film are any less relatable today,” she said.
“Kennedy” premieres on ZEE5 on February 20, 2026.
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