BOMBAY --- India's censorship battles over "Kama Sutra" aren't over yet.
After a protracted struggle with Indian censors (Daily Variety, Dec. 27, 1966), the English-lingo version of Mira Nair's "Kama Sutra" was to have bowed Friday in Bombay. That version had undergone significant cuts, mainly excising nudity, to win its approval.
However, the Indian-language versions of the film (in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu) have not yet cleared the censors, and distrib Shogun Films has decided to pull the film until it can be released in all four languages, believing that strategy will maximize its box office punch.
Because English-lingo pics play to a smaller, more eclectic audience, Indian censors typically allow a little more leeway. The rules are more rigidly enforced when applied to Indian-language films.
The film was first skedded to bow in helmer Nair's homeland in March. It has been rescheduled three times, in each case the result of hangups with the Central Board of Film Certification over the pic's subject matter and nudity.
The continuous hype and hoopla over the pic may yet translate into B.O., providing the pic is ever released here.
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