If You Thought That It Was Only Indian Filmmakers Who Suffered, Here's How CBFC Scared Hollywood BigWigs As Well

Will Smith¡¯s Independence Day is one of the most iconic fiction films of all times. While the fight to eliminate the alien race and saving mankind kept us on the edge of the seats, the visuals of destruction were both devastating and jaw-dropping.

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Taking the legacy forward the makers have come up with another installment. Independence Day: Resurgence follows the events twenty years after the first film, where a new wave of alien reinforcements enters our planet in response to a distress signal sent up by the first wave of extraterrestrial visitors. And as expected, insanity ensues.

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While the plot does makes sense, there is one thing that doesn¡¯t fit. Las Vegas is ruined, Burj Khalifa and Petronas are destroyed, London is reduced to rubble but India stands nowhere in the face of this alien attack. Interestingly, it¡¯s only India which remains unscathed and continues to stand straight despite a deadly alien attack. The superpower that prevents it is ¨C Offence! Yes, you read that right!

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According to a Mumbai Mirror report, the makers of Independence Day Resurgence , 20th Century Fox, decided not to show any part of India or its historical monuments being destroyed in the film. Their reason, being ¡°Well, Indians are too touchy. Keeping the sensitivities of all the religious groups and other activists in mind, the makers were asked to not shoot in India or portray any prominent monuments being damaged.¡±

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According to the report, a source from the production house said, ¡°There was also a request to only represent India on one of the film¡¯s posters, by showing an attack on the Taj Mahal. But this too was rejected.¡±

This came after Adam Sandler¡¯s film Pixels was asked by The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to exclude the clip that shows the Taj Mahal being destroyed from the promo. An insider said at that time, ¡°Originally, the film had scenes that showed many monuments like the Eiffel Tower, Houses of London, and so on, being destroyed. However, the final cut of the film featured the Taj Mahal scene.¡±

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The scenes were later pulled off. Talking about it, Pixels¡¯ director Chris Columbus had said, ¡°It is the first real iconic thing to get destroyed in the film. There is a destruction scene prior to that but with Taj Mahal, you see that it is actually a game breakout. I had this visual image while designing these effects. It had nothing to do whether it was India or anywhere else. I just thought it will look really cool and awesome,¡± he had said.

And then, India took offense!