--- description: The agency in charge of approving films apparently objected to some of the film's dialogue title: India Bans 'Fifty Shades of Grey' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf89b5a5821971a5a/69877d5fcd1bba591d6f5066/50-shades-of-grey.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Indian Censorship Authorities Ban _Fifty Shades of Grey_ by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 5, 2015 6:56 AM CUT  Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan star in Fifty Shades of Grey Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan star in Fifty Shades of GreyChuck Zlotnick—Universal Pictures by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 5, 2015 6:56 AM CUT India has [blocked the release](http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/03/04/film-fiftyshades-india-idINKBN0M01TV20150304?irpc=932 "undefined") of the movie _Fifty Shades of Grey_ — an adaptation of the 2011 best-selling erotic novel — with sources saying that the country’s censors objected to parts of the film’s dialogue. Shravan Kumar, the chief executive of India’s Central Board of Film Certification, said the film’s backers Universal Pictures could appeal the decision, Reuters reports. Kumar did not specify why the board declined to approve the film’s release. A source within Universal Pictures said the ban came despite the studio cutting all nudity out of the film and toning down sexually explicit scenes. India joins countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and Kenya in banning the $400 million-plus grossing film, but the decision from its increasingly strict censor authorities does not come as a surprise to many. The board, the leadership of which was reconstituted earlier this year under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recently issued a list of objectionable words that cannot feature in movies. The list has been put on hold after much public outcry, but that did not stop the board from muting the word _lesbian_ in a recently released Bollywood film. \[[_Reuters_](http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/03/04/film-fiftyshades-india-idINKBN0M01TV20150304?irpc=932 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3733015/india-fifty-shades-of-grey-banned/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3733015/india-fifty-shades-of-grey-banned/"},"headline":"Indian Censorship Authorities Ban Fifty Shades of Grey","datePublished":"2015-03-05T06:56:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:55:41.010Z","description":"It's a Grey blackout","url":"https://time.com/3733015/india-fifty-shades-of-grey-banned/","keywords":["India","indonesia","Narendra Modi","Malaysia","Ban","Kenya","Movie"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf89b5a5821971a5a/69877d5fcd1bba591d6f5066/50-shades-of-grey.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf89b5a5821971a5a/69877d5fcd1bba591d6f5066/50-shades-of-grey.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Fifty Shades of Gray","caption":"Fifty Shades of Gray","creditText":"Chuck Zlotnick—Universal Pictures","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3733015/india-fifty-shades-of-grey-banned/","name":"Indian Censorship Authorities Ban Fifty Shades of Grey"}}]}] ```