Let’s Not Censor or Modify ‘Besharam Rang’

Ever since Shah Rukh Khan began promoting the latest song, "Besharam Rang" (shameless color), from his upcoming film "Pathaan," on his Instagram story, reactions from all over the globe began pouring in.

The opening scene of the music video shows Deepika Padukone, clad in a yellow one-piece bathing suit, that exposes her toned abdomen and long legs, diving into a swimming pool, biting into a strawberry and then taking a cat walk on the pavement as Shah Rukh Khan, whose wearing a pair of dark shades and a teal-green printed collared shirt which exposes his chest, gazes at her from afar.

Many of the viewers are taking jabs at Padukone for her attire in the song and I can't fathom why. People are behaving as if they've never seen Bollywood actresses in swimwear before. Many actresses including Dimple Kapadia, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif and several others have been seen on screen donned in a bikini or a bathing suit but they didn't recieve this kind of backlash. And ultimately, why does it even matter? Who is anyone to judge? It's her body and she has every right to wear anything she chooses. And she's not entitled to answer anyone.

It upsets me that the Center Board of Film Certification has requested Khan and Padukone to modify or censor the music video to fit their criteria. I just want to know what is their criteria specifically? In the past, Bollywood has produced numerous films that not only show women flaunting their bodies in revealing clothes but also that contain intense sexual scenes. The only difference was that most of these scenes were performed by unknown artists. For example, the Hate Story film series, contains many erotic scenes and music videos that could be censored but because the viewership for these films is not nearly as high as the ones for Shah Rukh Khan's movies, the CBFC will never even bother to bat an eye.

I can argue that the title "Besharam Rang" and the lyrics are provocative but the song isn't showing anything that hasn't been seen before on the big screen. In the past, many Bollywood films have shown actresses wearing clothes that accentuate their curves as they shake their hips and dance to the music. So why pick on this song and modify it? What makes this one so different than the others?

Let's not modify or censor "Besharam Rang" in anyway because it doesn't need it. It's fine exactly the way it is. Regardless of what anyone says about it, "Besharam Rang" is a catchy song, sung beautifully by Shipa Rao and Caralisa Monteiro and I encourage everyone to listen to it and watch it.