Jun 12, 2026 6:00pm IST
Nikhil Dwivedi On ‘Bandar’ Getting An ‘A’ Certificate From CBFC: ‘I Expected A Nightmare, But It Wasn’t’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Anurag Kashyap’s dark legal drama “Bandar” arrived in theatres on June 5 with an ‘A’ (Adults Only) certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). While the rating ensured the film’s raw edge remained intact for its theatrical run, the clearance came with a mandate to make multiple dialogue modifications and to mute expletives.
Producer of the film, Nikhil Dwivedi, opens up about the initial anxiety of taking a gritty crime thriller through the censor process, his conversations with the director, and why his perspective on the CBFC completely changed during the screening.
For Dwivedi, navigating the raw language written into the script was a constant concern. He admits that while the original screenplay was more restrained, director Anurag Kashyap pushed for a more authentic, unfiltered tone during filming to accurately depict the movie’s grim setting.
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Dwivedi shares, “It was definitely my concern. I would not be honest if I said it wasn’t. But again, the director has a point of view, and it was correct because he said, ‘These are a certain kind of people that we are dealing with. ‘Yeh jail ke qaidi hain’ (these are prison inmates), and they are not going to be reciting shloks.’”
As a producer, Dwivedi found himself balancing Kashyap’s vision against the reality of stringent government-mandated guidelines. “You cannot deny the fact that, as a producer, there is the CBFC to take care of... sometimes one does worry about how it is going to be taken.”
Despite heading into the certification process bracing for a hostile creative battle, Dwivedi was pleasantly surprised by the board’s empathetic approach. Rather than acting as a roadblock, the board members actively worked toward helping the film reach theaters.
Dwivedi reveals, “I really expected a nightmare, but it wasn’t. They want to see your film released faster and as you had imagined. But their hands are tied too. The law and the guidelines will need to change, and that is at the level of the government. They are just following guidelines, and they try to help you as much as they can.”
While he acknowledges that the process can still be deeply frustrating for a filmmaker, he emphasizes that the board was never intentionally stalling the project. “When I was on my way back home, I used to understand — listen, they’re not trying to stall us... they have empathy, but they were also very clear.”
Ultimately, the collaboration yielded a major victory for the ‘Bandar’ team. Despite the heavy theme of the film, which follows an aging TV star (played by Bobby Deol) thrust into a dark legal system and media trial, the visual storytelling remains entirely uncompromised.
Dwivedi states, “I think we did it. ‘Bandar’ was cleared without a single visual cut. Not even one. For a film of this scale and story, that’s quite remarkable.”
Dwivedi concludes with a message to the wider film industry, urging filmmakers to shed their preconceived notions that the CBFC is inherently anti-creativity. “We go with that preconceived notion that they are here to hamper creativity. We go into that meeting with a certain dislike. I think it’s not required.”
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