CBFC cuts male nudity shot in Challengers but in a RARE instance, retains Zendaya’s see-through bra explicit sex scene

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), as is well known, often heavily comes down on explicit intimate scenes even after passing films with an ‘A’ certificate. As a result, moviegoers in India, who ventured out to watch the latest Hollywood release Challengers, were stunned to see that two intense sex scenes were left untouched by the Censors.

The film stars Zendaya, of Spider-Man, Dune and Euphoria fame, and is also one of the producers of the film, which also features Josh O'Connor and Mike Faist. The film caught the attention of viewers across the globe last year when the first teaser dropped depicting Zendaya having a threesome with Josh and Mike.

A source told Bollywood Hungama, “The CBFC’s Examining Committee didn’t touch this much-talked-about scene. Moreover, another intimate scene, between Zendaya and a male actor, is much more explicit. It even features Zendaya wearing a see-through bra. There were fears that there would be a repeat of what happened during Oppenheimer (2023), when Florence Pugh’s nude scene was edited with a CGI-made black dress. Thankfully, nothing of that sort needed to be done for this film. The scene was passed; not a single second was cut.”

But the CBFC did ask for some changes. The source continued, “There’s a scene where a male actor shows his bare buttocks. The CBFC refused to pass the scene. Hence, the studio zoomed in on the male actor to hide his bare behind. A similar modification was done for another scene where a character in the dressing room walks around naked while two characters in the background are having a shower.”

Apart from these changes, the cut list of the CBFC suggests that an abusive word was muted while the cigarette brand was asked to be blurred. Once these changes were made, Challengers was passed with an ‘A’ certificate. The certificate was handed over on April 25, that is, just a day before the film’s release.

Challengers is about a former tennis player who is now a coach for her husband. Things take a turn when they bump into their old friend after years.

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