Salman Khan eyes November 13 as Maatrubhumi awaits CBFC

Salman Khan’s Galwan Valley drama has moved past its political clearance, but it is still standing outside the censor board’s door. Maatrubhumi, originally announced as Battle of Galwan, was retitled earlier this year and dramatises the 2020 India-China border face-off. The producers applied for CBFC certification at the beginning of October, yet no screening date has been fixed.

Why the film is still waiting

A screening was said to be assured for Monday, October 26, but it did not take place. Khan has travelled to Delhi a few times to ask the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to help move the certification process along. Reports say he is not seeking any special treatment: the changes the Ministry wanted have been made, and the application has followed all the rules.

That final clearance step matters because an Indian film needs a CBFC certificate before it can be screened in cinemas. Reports indicate the film’s portrayal of China made the process more sensitive at a time when relations between the two countries are warming.

The logic behind November 13

The team is holding November 13 as the preferred opening. No other major Hindi film has claimed that date, and Salman is reportedly not a fan of crowded box-office weekends. The plan is to open two weeks ahead of the November 27 releases, so every film gets a fair run. November 20 was ruled out because it would land too close to that pile-up.

• November 13: the target date for Maatrubhumi, if CBFC clears it in time.
• November 27: Rajshri Productions’ Yeh Prem Mol Liya and Emraan Hashmi’s Gunmaaster G9 arrive.
• December 4: Jio Studios has Shraddha Kapoor’s Eetha, so two studio films cannot open together.

Why December 4 came off the table

A December 4 slot was also discussed, but Jio Studios, which is distributing Maatrubhumi, already has Eetha locked for that day. The studio’s position was simple: it cannot open two of its own films on the same date, and Salman accepted that reasoning. He has also made it clear he will not go up against Yeh Prem Mol Liya, because its director, Sooraj Barjatya, is like family.

The one variable left

For fans, the whole release plan now hangs on a single administrative step. If the CBFC certificate arrives soon, Maatrubhumi gets a clear mid-November window and the November 27 films keep their own space. If the screening keeps slipping, the makers will have to search for another date in a calendar that is already filling up around the year-end.

Directed by Apoorva Lakhia, Maatrubhumi also features Chitrangada Singh and Ankur Bhatia.

Source: The Times of India