How 4 Rivers 6 Ranges got U/A 13+ while Maatrubhumi fought

Two films about China met India’s censor board this year and came away with two very different stories. One needed reshoots and repeated clearances. The other collected a U/A 13+ and went to cinemas without a Revising Committee referral.

Two films, two clearance paths

Salman Khan’s Maatrubhumi—earlier known as Battle Of Galwan—was reportedly caught in a long clearance process because it depicts the 2020 India-China conflict. Director Apoorva Lakhia and the team added fictional elements, romance and backstory, and reshot portions. Even then, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting retained reservations before the film was recently cleared.

4 Rivers 6 Ranges tells a different story. Released in cinemas on September 18, it focuses on ordinary Tibetans who resisted Chinese forces and helped the Dalai Lama reach the Indian border during his 1959 escape. The CBFC passed it on April 29, 2026 with a U/A 13+ certificate. The film was cleared by the Examining Committee itself—no Revising Committee referral, no extended fight.

Why the U/A 13+ clearance stands out

The source material is openly critical of Chinese actions in Tibet. Writer-director Shenpenn Khymsar partly adapted Flight At The Cuckoo’s Behest, a book by the film’s producer Dorjee Wangdi Dewatshang. According to ThePrint, Dorjee’s father was among those who helped the Dalai Lama during the escape. After the film’s release, Chinese state-controlled media attacked it, accusing the makers of promoting separatism.

The shoot itself was shaped by the same sensitivity. Khymsar told Mid-Day that he wanted to film in Mustang, Nepal, and submitted a dummy script titled The Himalayan Robin Hood to avoid problems. When the local authorities found out the real subject, he finished the shoot in just 19 days. Nawazuddin Siddiqui later joined as narrator. Khymsar recalled the actor saying, “Chal main karta hoon yaar, koi baat nahi,” and just recording it.

What the contrast really asks

The two cases are now being read side by side:

• Maatrubhumi: reshoots, script changes and ministry reservations before clearance.
• 4 Rivers 6 Ranges: U/A 13+ on April 29, 2026, cleared by the Examining Committee alone.
• The optics: one sensitive China film was scrutinised, another passed in a single round.

For fans, the real issue is not which film deserves to exist. It is whether the CBFC’s process can explain why one politically charged subject needed so many changes while another did not. With India-China relations improving, expect this question to grow louder as more such films line up for clearance.

Source: Bollywood Hungama