Ghooskhor Pandat Row: The Curious Case Of CBFC And Caste

Following Netflix India’s 2026 slate announcement on February 3, Neeraj Pandey’s Ghooskhor Pandat, starring Manoj Bajpayee found itself in a quagmire as the title triggered immense backlash on social media. Going by the literal - a character with a weakness for bribes - the title is being read as a thunderous insult on a community.

To allay the concerns or weaponise it effectively, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath ordered an FIR be filed against the film's team at the Hazratganj police station in Lucknow. The state had recently witnessed widespread protests from numerous Brahmin oragnisations following the UGC's equity regulations which were aimed at tackling discrimination against minorities in campuses. 

The police stated that the FIR was filed as the title was deliberately aimed at insulting a particular community and ‘disturbing social harmony. Noting the widespread anger among the Brahmin community over the film’s name and content and the threat of numerous protests by associated organisations, the police said that they have increased the possibility of disruption to public peace and law and order. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also issued a notice to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting following a complaint that the film "vilifies a recognised social group." On Tuesday, Netflix announced that it would change the name of the film when the Delhi High Court was hearing a plea which claimed that the OTT platform was promoting the name and associating the term “Pandat” with corruption and bribery.

Following the initial backlash and controversy, the Centre had asked Netflix to remove the teaser and other promotional content of Ghooskhor Pandat. Speaking on the action, BJP national Spokesperson, Gaurav Bhatia, said “We wholeheartedly commend the Centre's swift and decisive action! Offensive content, such as the derogatory film Ghooskhor Pandat, has not only been removed from the platform, but an FIR has also been registered in the case. This sends a clear message that insults to Sanatan Dharma will no longer be tolerated.” 

The producers took down the teaser and other promotional content following the notice, as director Neeraj Pandey clarified, “Our film is a fictional cop drama, and the term 'Pandat' is used simply as a colloquial name for a fictional character. The story focuses on an individual’s actions and choices and does not comment on or represent any caste, religion, or community.”

Bajpayee, known for versatility and ability to get into the skin of emotionally complex characters across the spectrum, also took to social media to clarify his part, “As an actor, I come to a film through the character and the story I am playing. For me, this was about portraying a flawed individual and his journey of self-realisation. This was not meant to be a statement about any community.”

Adityanath’s orders have found unexpected support from Bahujan Samaj Party Supremo Mayawati, a prominent face of Dalit politics in India. “It is a matter of great sorrow and concern that not only in Uttar Pradesh alone but now even in films, the word 'Pandit' is being portrayed as an infiltrator, thereby insulting and disrespecting the entire community across the country. This has caused tremendous anger among the whole Brahmin society at present, and our party strongly condemns this in the harshest terms. The Central Government should immediately impose a ban on such a casteist film. This is the demand of the BSP," she shared on social media. Mayawati trying to court Brahmins was not surprising considering her attempt to pitch herself as the custodian of their concerns in UP, but her vocal support of Adityanath's move was surprising for many. 

The Caste Discomfort

Last year, India’s official submission to the 2026 Oscars, Homebound (2025), directed by National Award-winning filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan and produced by Karan Johar’s Dharma Production, was released in the theatres after facing 11 cuts where according to reports, multiple caste references and scenes were demanded to be modified or removed. 

In May, another Dharma Productions venture, Dhadak 2, directed by Shazia Iqbal and addressing major caste issues, raised the hackles and triggered the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to impose 16 cuts and a U/A 16+ certificate. Singling out references to caste and its realities, the CBFC asked the makers to modify the dialogue: "3,000 years of backlog will not be cleared in just 70 years" to "backlog of age-old discrimination...", to do away with a historical and numerical association to caste-based discrimination in India. Casteist slurs like bhangi and chamar were removed, and replaced with junglee, despite the slurs being crude daily realities of caste-based discrimination and humiliation in India. The word ‘savarna’ was also asked to be modified while a shot of someone urinating on the Dalit protagonist played by Siddhant Chaturvedi was censored. Dalit poet Om Prakash Valmiki’s poem Thakur ka Kuan, which speaks of upper-caste monopoly and control of resources, was also ordered to be taken down.

Phule (2025), a biopic starring Pratik Gandhi and Patralekhaa, which chronicles the story of Jyotiba and Savitribai Phule and their fight against Brahmanical patriarchy, also faced the CBFC’s scissors following numerous protests by organisations like the Brahmin Federation. References to Manusmriti and Manuvaad, central to understanding the history of the caste system and discrimination, were ordered to be removed, while the usage of names of castes like Mang, Mahar and Peshwa were dropped. Like Dhadak 2, the words ‘3000-saal puraani ghulaami’ were replaced with ‘kai-saal’ to do away with the numerical and historical association of the reality of a 3000-year-old system on screen.

Numerous questions were raised following the latest episode surrounding Neeraj Pandey’s Ghooskhor Pandat, where the stifling of creative expression is again in focus. Experts and artistes have attributed a creative decline to CBFC’s unchecked reach as the culture of bans and censors ensues. On top of it, caste continues to be a prickly subject for the CBFC, where mere references to daily caste realities and nomenclature prevalent through history are also being subject to cuts and deletions. 

As pointed out by many on social media, ‘ghooskhor pandat’, roughly translating to a bribe-taking pandit, speaks of an individual and does not come close to insulting a historically advantaged community or caste. Experts note - the consistent outrage against mention of caste realities and even mere names of communities not only laminates a historical insecurity of the upper caste, but also speaks loudly of the silver-screen’s constant discomfort surrounding anything caste. Snip-snap. Poof! As it was never there.