The Voice of Hind Rajab banned in India orally by CBFC, distributor says

The Voice of Hind Rajab, an Oscar nominated film about a 5-year-old girl who was killed by Israeli forces in early 2024 in the Gaza war, has been orally rejected by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), the film’s India distributor Manoj Nandwana said. The theatrical ban on the film was first reported on Thursday (March 19, 2026) by Hollywood trade publication Variety.

Mr. Nandwana told The Hindu that he “had a feeling” that the film would be refused certification, as multiple film festivals — which require the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s clearance for movies that don’t have a CBFC certificate — were not granted approval for this film over the last year. 

He added that he was not going to proceed with a legal challenge to the film, and said that he did not get the rejection from the CBFC in writing. “In the past, we submitted a film called Land Jihad … but then the Censor Board gave it in writing that this could cause communal issues, and rejected it in writing,” Mr. Nandwana said.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the CBFC did not respond to a query by The Hindu. Over the last two years, the CBFC has rejected and censored films that have progressive political messaging. Any reference to real life political events and personalities is typically removed. While an emerging crop of right wing cinema has also faced heavy censorship, according to cutlists viewed by The Hindu, their core messages have more or less withstood the process.

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Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor said that the film’s ban was “disgraceful,” adding that “screening a film is a reflection of our society’s freedom of expression and has nothing to do with government to government relations.” Banning films for potentially harming foreign relations is “unworthy of a mature democracy,” Mr. Tharoor said.

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Mr. Nandwana purchased the rights for the Tunisian-produced film long before it was an Oscars contender, buying it for the equivalent of ₹1 crore in Venice. But the film was denied screening at multiple festivals, including the Bengaluru International Film Festival and the International Film Festival of India in Goa. The only festival it has played at in India is in the Kolkata International Film Festival, Mr. Nandwana said, speculating that this was because the organisers did not bother with clearances from the Union government.

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Mr. Nandwana’s purchase of the film’s rights is not insured against a ban like this, and he said the producers of the film were “shocked” at the ban. He said he had no faith in the revising committee of the CBFC, as it was “all the same people” who would ultimately take the decision on clearing the film.