‘Overly Sensual’ Superman Kiss Scenes Censored in India

Two kiss scenes have been cut from James Gunn’s Superman by India’s film censors, fuelling outrage over what critics call outdated and inconsistent standards.

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) removed the moments to secure a UA (13+) rating ahead of the film’s certification on July 7, 2025.

This included a 33-second mid-air kiss between Superman and Lois Lane.

It is reported that the CBFC found the kisses “overly sensual”.

Online backlash was swift and scathing.

Actor Shreya Dhanwanthary posted: “If this is true, this is RIDICULOUS!!!

“Some ridiculous c**p happens every day. Every. Damn. Day. Sure this is the least of our worries but is something done about anything else?

“There is some c**p every day. Every. Damn. Day.”

Digital creator Amol Jamwal questioned the CBFC’s logic: “You can have lewd double meaning jokes in Housefull 5.

“Beheadings and gory violence in Jaat. But… Superman kissing Lois Lane is where we draw the line.”

One user on X wrote: “CBFC would allow horrific scenes of violence and sexual assault in a U-certified film that kids are freely allowed to watch, but won’t allow consensual kissing in a U/A comic book movie that kids should watch under adult supervision.”

Another added: “So, Superman is NOT allowed to kiss Lois Lane on Indian screens.

“But all sleazy leading men of Indian films are allowed to pull, grope, assault, stalk, slap, and do whatever they want with their heroines.

“Are you serious, Indian censor board?”

A viewer criticised the clumsy execution of the cuts, saying:

“The Indian censor board has embarrassed itself with the abrupt cuts they’ve made to the film.

“The ‘morality’ of censorship aside, the way they’ve managed to mangle the flow is atrocious.”

The incident has reignited debate around the CBFC’s powers and India’s ambiguous standards on screen content.

Earlier in 2025, Hollywood films F1 and Thunderbolts also saw alterations in India. In F1, a middle-finger emoji was replaced with a fist. In Thunderbolts, expletives were muted.

Although the CBFC’s guidelines reference freedom of speech, they also allow broad “reasonable restrictions” on the grounds of “decency or morality”.

The 2021 abolition of the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal has left filmmakers without a dedicated route to appeal censorship decisions, short of taking cases to the high courts, an expensive and time-consuming option, especially for global studios managing international releases.