Rocking Star Yash's Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups is the latest South Indian film to release with an A certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Of course, given the film's mature content (especially brutal violence, sexual content and strong language), this CBFC certification was par for the course.
In fact, Yash repeatedly told the audience that his movie was not meant for children and was for adults only, as is evident from its tagline. Just a few months back, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay's film Jana Nayagan also released with an A certificate, reportedly for the combination of violence, political content, religious references and sensitive imagery.
From these examples, what we find is an interesting trend that has emerged over the last few years in South India — the profile and frequency of A-certified films have changed considerably.
Since society and the type of content changed drastically over the last decade, the CBFC updated its classification system to keep in tune with the times in 2024.
In 2016, the CBFC certification included these categories — U (unrestricted public exhibition), UA (unrestricted, but children below 12 required parental guidance) and A (adults 18+).
However, there was a big gap between the UA and A certifications, and in 2024, the CBFC added more categories — U, UA 7+, UA 13+, UA 16+ and A — as the old system had become outdated.
Now, a UA 16+ film can contain significant violence, mature themes, strong language or other material, but discretion for viewing is with the parents.
But over the last few years, South Indian films, especially those featuring big stars, that are releasing with an A certificate have become more common. Sample this — Rajinikanth's Coolie, Vijay's Jana Nayagan, Nani's HIT: The Third Case, Pawan Kalyan's They Call Him OG, Lokesh Kanagaraj's DC, Pranav Mohanlal's Dies Irae, Arulnithi's DeMonte Colony 3, Dhruva Sarja's KD – The Devil and Dhanush's Raayan all got certified A, along with many others.
This phenomenon is interesting since it looks like more filmmakers and stars are willing to accept an A certificate rather than dilute their films by making edits, cuts and mutes.
Director Gaurav Narayanan, who is part of the National Awards jury, says that the changing taste of audiences has led many filmmakers to make movies that are more violent or have sexual overtones. “There are different kinds of audiences that filmmakers can make a movie for, such as Gen Z and youth audiences or family audiences. When filmmakers primarily target Gen Z and younger audiences, they tend to make movies with a lot more violence, sexually explicit content and dialogues.
"The kind of content that works with a younger audience is very different from what a family audience would be comfortable watching. Today, filmmakers are also more willing to experiment with these elements because they know there is an audience for such content. It is ultimately about understanding who you are making the film for and what kind of content that audience is willing to accept. And filmmakers are OK with an A certificate because they believe there is an audience for such films.”
However, films have been certified 'A' for excessive violence or sexual content for decades in Indian cinema, but there's an important difference between adult films and A-certified films. In the 1980s, for instance, there was a change in the kind of films that were being made, partly reflecting the violence, terrorism and social unrest seen across several parts of the country.
As a result, mainstream films that received an 'A' certificate did so for violence, sexual content, mature themes or a combination of these. Films such as Ram Teri Ganga Maili (sexual content), Aaj Ki Awaz (violence) and Hukumat (violence) were major commercial successes despite their A certificates.
What has changed over the decades is the stigma and commercial calculation around an A certificate, as well as the audience's relationship with such content.
With the rise of OTT platforms and the easy availability of international cinema and series, viewers — particularly younger audiences — have become far more used to graphic violence, strong language, sexual themes and mature subject matter. As a result, an A certificate is no longer necessarily seen as a deterrent by filmmakers or audiences.
Unlike theatrical releases, OTT content is outside CBFC certification and subject to age-based classification and a self-regulatory framework.
Thus, violent and sexual content is more readily available to audiences, while serious themes such as drug addiction, dysfunctional relationships and morally grey protagonists are now commonplace on OTT.
The important distinction here is that OTT hasn't made audiences seek out A-certificate films; it has made them less uncomfortable with the kind of content that results in an A certificate. Films, therefore, are competing with a much broader and more permissive content environment thanks to OTT and social media.
A Tamil film director, who wished to remain anonymous, tells NDTV, “There are audiences for every type of film, so filmmakers are not bothered if their film gets an A certificate. Films like Toxic and DC are intentionally made with excessive violence and overt sexual intimacy because they are targeting Gen Z and youth. But films like Tourist Family or Bethlehem Kudumba Unit are meant for family audiences, and they also became big hits.
So, the onus is on the filmmakers. We can't criticise the CBFC for giving an A certificate when filmmakers refuse to make cuts and say they are OK with an A certificate.”
Perhaps, then, the A certificate itself hasn't become less restrictive; audiences have simply become less restricted by it.
