B***h is no-no! But according to CBFC guidelines, it’s okay to call a woman a ‘buddhi’

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) guidelines under the chairmanship of its new helmer, Prasoon Joshi, are getting clearer now. Apparently, Joshi, who stays away from the process of certification and lets the CBFC board members do their job, has made it very clear that an ‘A’ certificate means that the content, no matter how sexually aggressive, remains untouched as long as women are not demeaned or ridiculed.

Director Ananth Mahadevan, whose erotic thriller Aksar 2, which has Zareen Khan in the lead role, went to the CBFC this week and came away largely unscathed with all the skin show and smooching intact. Even the word ‘f**k’ was allowed. The only word they had an issue with was ‘b***h’ and so it had to be removed. Mahadevan has replaced it with the word ‘buddhi’ (old hag), though it’s not clear how calling a woman a ‘hag’ is less insulting than calling her a ‘b***h.’ Says Mahadevan, “I think, in all fairness, the viewing committee has taken a very mature view of our film giving it an ‘A’ certificate without major cuts.”

According to the director, the logic offered by the CBFC for allowing ‘f**k’ and disallowing ‘b***h’ was this, “The ‘F’ word is used as a swear word and not to suggest the sexual act. As far as the word ‘b***h’ is concerned, the board members felt it was derogatory to a lady, hence, better to replace it. Come to think of it, I love dogs too much to use ‘b***h’ as an insult.”