Bad news for Shah Rukh’s son, can’t watch The Mummy

Little AbRam who turned four years old this week would have to wait for a long time before watching the film that he wanted to see. AbRam who has been keenly awaiting the release of the new Tom Cruise film The Mummy won’t be able to watch the film.

The Censor Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) has cleared the film on Saturday with no cuts, albeit with an ‘Adult Only’ certification. No recent Cruise film has received an ‘adult’ rating in India.

Says a source from the CBFC, “We realise that this is a film kids are waiting to watch and we also realise that Tom is a family star. Kids love him as much as grownups, and he tailors his films accordingly. Although The Mummy is a fantasy film peppered with mythology, the content is violent. The choice was to either reduce the length of some of the action or to let the content remain and grant the film an ‘A’ certification. The producers went with the latter option.”

However, there seems to be some amount of hypocrisy involved in censoring imported fantasy when laced with violence. In Baahubali 2, shots of severed heads were allowed and the film was passed with a ‘U/A’. In The Mummy an ‘A’ certification was seen proper because of the aggressive nature of the action. Apparently the film’s producers Universal Pictures have decided to not contest the CBFC’s decision although the ‘A’ certification puts the film at a disadvantage vis-a-vis the other big Hollywood blockbuster releases of the season Pirates Of The Caribbean and Wonder Woman, both of which have been granted a ‘U/A’ certification.

Seems like AbRam has to ask his dad to arrange a private screening or wait till he reaches the appropriate age.