CBFC Cuts out Kashmir From ‘Mission: Impossible - Fallout’

The censor board has come down hard on the latest Tom Cruise vehicle.

The latest instalment in the Mission: Impossible series is in cinemas from Friday but learnt that a major plot point has been cut from the Indian release at the behest of the CBFC.

The climax of Mission: Impossible - Fallout is set in Kashmir and both director McQuarrie and star Tom Cruise have spoken at length about featuring the region in the film. McQuarrie had said they wanted a "more politically complex" world for the new Mission: Impossible, and that is how Kashmir found a place in the narrative. They couldn’t get permissions to actually shoot in the state, so New Zealand subbed in for Kashmir.

Understandably, there was significant buzz among Indian fans about how the film will portray the troubled region.

However, when Indian audiences go in to watch Mission: Impossible - Fallout they will not see or hear any references to Kashmir in the film. While most of the final action sequence remains in the film, abrupt chopping ensures that we never learn the location. What led the CBFC and Indian distributors to make such drastic cuts to a mainstream blockbuster? Reportedly 4 modifications were done to the film before it hit theatres.

The plot isn’t affected much, since Kashmir is simply another exotic location for the globe-hopping film. Keen viewers may spot references to the Indian Army, the Nubra Valley and a sign that says ‘Kashmir’ for a fleeting second. However, this made the cuts even more baffling.

The makers were asked to sever the title card before the final sequence that identified the name of the location as “India-controlled Kashmir”. A map that “misrepresented the boundaries of the state of Jammu and Kashmir” also didn’t make it to the film.

“The CBFC has advised the applicant of the film Mission: Impossible 6 that the map shown in the film misrepresents the boundaries of Jammu and Kashmir and should be either rectified or removed. They had also referred to Kashmir as India-controlled Kashmir which we have asked them to correct as the ‘Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir’. Integrity of our country’s borders are non-negotiable and cannot be compromised on for the sake of entertainment,”

Prasoon Joshi told PTI

Earlier in the franchise, 2011’s Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol had a sequence set in Mumbai which remained undisturbed in the Indian release. Mission: Impossible-Fallout stars Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Alec Baldwin, Michelle Monaghan, Ving Rhames and Angela Basset. Rogue Nation writer/director Christopher McQuarrie returns for the sixth installment.