In early 2026, Freemuse published its annual report on the State of Artistic Freedom documenting attacks on artistic freedom worldwide throughout 2025. This regional update examines developments in South Asia, in the first half of 2026.
Rising geopolitical tensions and growing government anxieties around national security, religious identity, obscenity, transnational politics and community relations are increasingly influencing human rights and cultural discourse in South Asia, leaving artists and cultural workers facing more scrutiny, censorship and persecution. Artistic freedom in the region continues to be under considerable strain, with multiple instances of creative persecution, chief among them being censorship in music, film and screen media.
India: Arbitrary delays and restrictions in film and screen media
In India, the arbitrary refusal or delay of film certification by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a recurring mechanism of censorship. This was particularly evident in the cases of Jana Nayagan and Satluj in 2026.
Jana Nayagan, starring actor-turned-politician Thalapathy Vijay, was scheduled for release on 10 January. Although the filmmakers had accepted CBFC recommended edits and cuts, concerning religious sensitivities, violence and gore, it remained uncertified and unable to be released in cinemas. Days before its planned release, they were informed that a “competent authority” had objected to the film on grounds that it hurt religious sentiments and portrayed the armed forces in an unacceptable manner. The filmmakers challenged these vague grounds, beginning a legal battle that postponed the release to July. Further complicating the timeline was its unauthorised online leak which led to additional controversy and litigation, and contributed to the delayed release of the film. Coincidentally, the delay came in the run-up to the Tamil Nadu state elections, in which Vijay was contesting, highlighting the longstanding tensions between cinema and politics in India.
While delayed certification can postpone a film’s release, prolonged or indefinite delays can make a release impossible altogether. Satluj, directed by Honey Trehan and starring Diljit Dosanjh, tells the story of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, who documented mass disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Punjab in the counter insurgency period of the 1980s and early 1990s. Khalra himself was abducted and killed in police custody in 1995. Previously titled Punjab ‘95, the film remained in censorship limbo for three years, with the CBFC reportedly recommending around 127 cuts. Unable to secure theatrical certification, it was released on streaming service ZEE5 Global on 3 July, only to be removed less than 48 hours later. As streaming content in India does not require CBFC certification, this case illustrates how censorship of screen media can extend beyond formal statutory mechanisms, making such restrictions more difficult to measure, document and track.
Nepal: Censorship beyond the censor board
Nepal has similarly seen growing debate around censorship and formal film regulation. For instance, in January, the Queer Film Festival Kathmandu invited nearly fifty filmmakers and queer cultural workers to be part of an interactive discussion around censorship of cinema in Nepal. Among matters discussed was the new Film Examination and Classification Procedure, 2082, that favours classification over cuts but encourages filmmakers to identify potential censorship concerns before submission. It can be argued that this move effectively institutionalises self-censorship.
Despite growing awareness and discussion, censorship debates continue to influence cinema in Nepal, as was seen in the case of Lalibazaar. The release of Lalibazaar, a social drama about Nepal’s historically marginalised Badi community, demonstrated the limits of formal certification. Although the film had received a universal certificate, its planned 1 May release was temporarily halted following a petition challenging its portrayal of the Badi community and claiming that the film presented the community in a negative light. Peaceful protests by the filmmakers and cast, followed the news of the film’s paused release with the court lifting the restriction, allowing the film to open a week later on 8 May. Similarly, an episode of weekly comedy show Comedy Darbar featuring parliamentary figures was subjected to around eleven audio bleeps after the Press Council of Nepal, reportedly warned the broadcaster about certain content. Interestingly, the programme team confirming that the script contained no offensive language and that the muted word was “Speaker” alluding to the growing tensions surrounding artistic freedom and any form of political criticism. Together, these cases illustrate a very interesting aspect of Nepal’s growing film and screen media censorship, as being influenced by authorities besides the Film Censor Board.
Pakistan: Censoring intimacy and bodies
In Pakistan, censorship of screen media has also appeared through broadcasters and production houses themselves. In the popular series, Dr. Bahu, a romantic scene in which the male lead adjusts the female lead’s sari, was removed from the televised episode aired in April 2026, because the channel considered it too intimate. The show’s director Mehreen Jabbar later released the deleted footage online, prompting discussion about the regulation of romantic intimacy on Pakistani television.
Earlier in 2026, writer Bee Gul similarly revealed that a scene in the first episode of her show, Aik Aur Pakeezah, in which the male lead appeared shirtless, had been censored by the channel, with even his bare shoulders blurred. Gul questioned this double standard, particularly because the scene formed part of a storyline about sexual coercion and blackmail. Together, the cases raise questions about how Pakistani television regulates bodies and intimacy.
Sri Lanka: Criminalising musical expression
In addition to film and screen media, music and musicians are increasingly under scrutiny by governments in South Asia. In June, Tamil rapper Sangeethsan Ganeskumar, known as HipHop Sangee, was arrestedunder Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) over social media posts featuring a performance in Jaffna that authorities alleged contained material supportive of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). He was released on June 12 after ten days in detention, with the Attorney General directing proceedings under a substantially less severe provision of the Section 120 of the Penal Code. Ganeskumar nevertheless continues to face legal proceedings. His case forms part of wider concerns about restrictions on Tamil cultural expression around identity, memory and the country’s armed conflict.
Bangladesh: Pressure on cultural expression
In June, a Baul folk music program in Netrokona was suspended following pressure from groups opposed to the event. Rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) criticised the intervention as an infringement of cultural freedom and fundamental rights. The incident highlights the long-standing vulnerability of Bangladesh’s Baul musicians to extra-legal pressure, demonstrating that censorship can operate through social as well as state pressure.
Across these cases, which are illustrative rather than exhaustive censorship in South Asia is increasingly difficult to locate within a single institution or legal mechanism. Formal bans and cuts coexist with delayed releases, self-censorship, institutional pressure and criminalisation, producing a diffuse landscape of artistic restriction. Freemuse will continue to monitor these developments and calls on governments, regulatory bodies and international institutions to revisit content restrictions, while upholding the artistic freedom of the people living and working in South Asia.
