The ‘Ghapa Ghap’ Controversy

There have been raised eyebrows regarding the censorial obliteration  of the suggestive term ‘Ghapa ghap’ from Samir Wadhwans’  Satyaprem Ki  Katha, especially since  this  crude colloquial  term  for  a quickie,  was  allowed in Raj Kumar Hirani’s  Sanju in  2018  and  more recently in Jogira Sa Ra Ra.

When  I touched base with a source very close to the Central Board  Of Film Certification I  was given this explanation:  “Satyaprem Ki Katha  is a film about date rape, and  the  concept of ‘First Base’ ‘Second Base’ , ‘Third Base’ to  explain the three stages to be crossed  by any couple  during consensual sex.This is  a serious  attempt  to  understand   the difference between consensual sex  and rape. To trivialize this with crude colloquial references to  the sex act, seemed  just not  proper.”

The  source also points out that there are no homogenous rules  for all films.

“What is correct  for one  film may be entirely wrong for another. If you are making a lighthearted romcom a certain amount of suggestiveness in the language  is perhaps  permissible. But if you are making a film on a sensitive  subject  like rape, frivolity is unacceptable.”