Why Is Bollywood Holding Back?

Affection, Kissing, Nudity, Sex :

For a country with such a high population they are prude when it comes to displaying sexual content on the big screen, yet they themselves are banging it out like no tomorrow.
Do couples not have sex in India? Or do they just dance around trees and then the next day she is pregnant? They say many cities in India are urban and westernized now, so can't they accept things like nudity in movies? Sure you can see affection and kissing these days in a hindi movie, but what about nudity and sex? Even in movies like LSD where they is a sex scene, they censor it? What is the point? Also the recent Mr.Singh Mrs.Metha they censored the nudity in the movie, this is a disgrace and insult to the filmmakers. The movie is given an adult rating and only adults will be able to see it in the multiplex, so can they not handle it? Are they not going to be doing the same thing once they get home? These movies are not considered family movies, so what is the problem? How can cinema grow if you are censoring something that is a natural part of life? Look at Hollywood, this is one of the reasons Bollywood remains in its shadows, they will not give a realistic protrayal of their country. They will sugercoat everything, even when it comes down to the gritty an realistic movies like LSD and Fashion, they will censor scenes, or be afraid to show a few models walking around topless.

Swearing:

Even the laguage is censored, sure there are some movies where they don't hold back, yet they still don't cross the line, I know they can be more realistic in this department, picture a group of buddies, sitting around, having a few drinks, and talking back and forth, then remember what you hear in films, it is not realistic, it takes you out of the movie when you can't even hear someone talk naturally. Maybe I am wrong on this one, if someone knows some Bollywood movies where they go all out let me know.

Violence and Gore:

The worst I have watched to date is in the movie 1920 (spoilers) where the girl is eating a dead animal. In action movies it can get bloody, but I think it is still timid in this department when comparing to Hollywood.

Drug Use:

I am not sure on this one and what drugs are popular in India, you will see a lot of alcohol abuse amd smoking in Hindi movies, druge use is rare I believe. If anyone knows any movies let me know.

I know many people watch both Bollywood and Hollywood movies, and you can see in Hollywood they are not afraid to hold anything back. Why is the film industry in India afraid to cross those boundaries? I could go on and say more, but I want to hear other peoples opinions, because frankly I am bored of Bollywood and find myself continually looking over to Hollywood instead.

"Do couples not have sex in India? Or do they just dance around trees and then the next day she is pregnant?"

with this being said, i would like to say that yes every couple has sex in india but that does not mean it has to be shown through movies in india. sex is supposed to be something personal between the couples, not a show to others...

I don't think movies like LSD, Dev D, or Murder are meant to be watched with families. Also that is why they have different genres and rating systems. Some movies are not meant to be watched with families and some are made for just that.

the primary goal of a movie.

As someone also pointed out, India is a conservative civilisation and things like swearing are considered a bad inflence on the society which is why they are cencored. Movies in India are seen as an entertainment medium (more than an artform) and moviegoing is considered a major bonding experience with families and friends. Hence, depiction of sex scenes might make people a bit uncomfortable and the makers would be treading on a fine line to shoot those scenes aesthetically, else they run the risk of being "cheap" and "vulgar".

Moreover, at the end of the day, a film is made to earn money for its producers and distributors and moviemaking is a business in India. The use of ratings restricts the film's market which would make it difficult for the film to do well at the box office as it only caters to a select group of audience. So people don't want to take that risk.

Originally posted by: smarie pants

Nitty gritty realism may appeal to some, but a lot of people find escapism far more entertaining, which is the primary goal of a movie.

That is the thing though, sometimes you need realism to escape, if a scene is not realistic how can you believe it? For example, when you are watching a movie about an Underworld Don and he does not even swear once.