Did You Know? Raajneeti Was Initially Denied Certificate By The Censor Board Of India – [Fact-O-Meter]

Prakash Jha’s Raajneeti is an epic take on the dark side on Indian politics. Featuring Nana Patekar, Ranbir Kapoor, Ajay Devgn, Manoj Bajpayee and others, narrates the conflict to gain power within a family.

Released in 2010, the film was a big success on both critical and commercial front. With a sum of 93.75 crores, the political thriller was the third highest grosser of the year after Dabangg and Golmaal 3. Upon its release, everyone’s performance was lauded by the audience and Jha was praised for showcasing a rawness of Indian politics. But before the film could hit theatres, it had to through several controversies and ruckus.

Many might be aware that Raajneeti’s characters are often linked to real-life Indian political figures. The most controversial character from the film was of Katrina Kaif. She played the character of Indu Pratap who becomes the widow of Arjun Rampal aka Prithviraj Pratap. Towards the end, she is shown as a Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. Before the film’s release, political parties took objection over Katrina’s character.

As claimed by some, Katrina Kaif‘s character was inspired by then INC (Indian National Congress) chief, Sonia Gandhi. On the other hand, Rashtriya Janata Dal’s workers claimed that the character is based on their chief, Rabri Devi. Workers of both political parties had protested against Prakash Jha by accusing him of showing their leaders in a controversial light. Due to such protests and political pressure, censor board of India i.e. Central Board Of Film Certification had initially denied certification to Raajneeti.

Afterwards, Prakash Jha dismissed all the claims of political parties and said that the film is inspired by Indian epic, Mahabharat.

Meanwhile, once Prakash Jha had taken a dig at films like The Accidental Prime Minister. He had said that propaganda films only work if their story clicks with the audience.

Jha, who has made films like Gangaajal, Apaharan, Raajneeti, Aarakshan” and Satyagraha, which have delved upon socio-political issues, said, “You can have a propaganda film. It will work if the story is working and if the story is working, then it is a valid film… why not?”

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