Just days before its release, John Abraham and Sharvari's upcoming film Vedaa received clearance from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) with a U/A certificate. However, the Revising Committee (RC) reportedly deleted over 9 minutes from the film and required the addition of a 1-minute and 16-second modified disclaimer and voiceover at the beginning. According to Bollywood Hungama, the board made several small changes to the film. These included modifying a dialogue with derogatory references towards women and social identity, deleting a 2-minute and 16-second hanging scene and muting the word "Jodhpur" from the Jodhpur High Court. Additionally, they demanded that the violence scene in the court be reduced by 30 per cent, which resulted in cutting 6 minutes and 15 seconds from the film.
Other changes included deleting an audio track of Sanskrit shlokas, modifying an abusive word, blurring visuals of tearing currency notes and removing text stating 'Brahmin son...Shudra's son.' Altogether, these cuts amounted to 9 minutes and 14 seconds. After these edits, the runtime of Vedaa is now 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Vedaa received its CBFC certification after the makers complained about an 'unusual delay' from the board. In a statement, they said, "Adhering to protocols, we applied for a certificate well before the prescribed eight weeks to release. Our film was screened for the CBFC on June 25th. Post this, we were advanced to a revising committee review without any explanation as to what the esteemed examining committee's concerns or objections were. Since then, we have waited patiently for a revising committee to be constituted, impressed on all respected and honourable office bearers and repeatedly daily documented our appeal for certification, consideration or even an explanation. Despite this unusual delay, we have full faith in the system in place and are confident that the CBFC will oblige us rightfully."
Director Nikkhil Advani earlier said in a statement, "Vedaa is not just a film. It's inspired by real events and is a reflection of our society and pushes the boundaries of reality. Working with John, Sharvari and Abhishek Banerjee has been an incredible experience and I'm glad to finally announce the release date, fingers are crossed and the audience gets moved the way we all did when we first heard the story of Vedaa", reported ANI.
The film also stars Abhishek Bannerjee and Tamannaah Bhatia. It will hit the theatres on Independence Day, August 15.