Hindi
Censor’s axe on Ranbir’s towel drop: Regressive?
MUMBAI: Ranbir Kapoor‘s towel dropping scene in the Saawariya song Jab se tere naina has been axed by the Censor Board. It is being argued that when Ranbir’s father, Rishi Kapoor made his debut in Bobby he too dropped his towel before an amused Aruna Irani.
The question worth asking though is – the scene was not cut then, so why axe a similar one almost three decades later? Is the Censor Board getting regressive?
Censor Board Film Certification (CBFC) RO Vinayak Azad says, “I think the issue is being blown out of proportion. It was a voluntary decision by the director Sanjay Leela Bhansali when we explained to him that the scene would not be appropriate for a U-certificate film. He opted to chop it.”
Bhansali has placed on record that though in principle he is against any cuts he has agreed this time as the shot did not make any difference to the flow of the story. Had the scene been retained it would have resulted in the film getting an A-certificate.
A source who understands the process of certification says, “It‘s to do with the five people who watch a film at a given time. If they feel that a particular scene or dialogue is offensive then they make the necessary recommendations. If a similar scene was passed years ago I don‘t see why this was needed to be cut now? Also, as there are no set rules or policies regarding such objections, there is not much one can do.”
Nudity-frontal or otherwise is not new to Indian films. The Supreme Court allowed a scene with frontal nudity in Bandit Queen. A few years later, in Split Wide Open Rahul Bose too dropped his pants under the direct gaze of the audiences.
Sure, both the films were passed with A-certificates. But does a fleeting peek at the derriere of an actor amount to obscenity in times of a Madonna or Mallika Sherawat? Are young audiences not accustomed to watching raunchy numbers from B-grade films?
“Being progressive does not mean exposing,” argues Azad. “People have clichéd opinions of censorship issues. We are walking a tight rope and need to therefore do a balancing act without adversely affecting cinema. We are not into moral policing. Our job is to certify films and rate them in accordance to the audience they are targeted at. I can‘t comment on what transpired 34 years ago (when Rishi Kapoor dropped his towel). This is a grey area. Not something that is either right or wrong. Being liberal is being open to ideas and ideologies – not just allowing nudity and sex.”
So whilst directors continue to remain subject to the mercy of the five members on the Censor Board panel, audiences may have to wait another three decades for a peek of a derriere. In the meantime, let’s continue to watch all those raunchy music videos.
Hindi
India’s telecom subscribers cross 1.32 billion in February 2026
Broadband base swells past 1.06 billion as Jio and Airtel tighten grip on the market.
MUMBAI: India’s telecom sector is ringing in steady growth once again adding millions of new connections every month while the race for broadband supremacy continues to heat up like a fiercely contested cricket match. According to the latest data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on 1 April 2026, the total telephone subscriber base in the country reached 1,321.31 million at the end of February 2026. This marked a net addition of 7.31 million subscribers during the month, translating into a monthly growth rate of 0.56 per cent.
Wireless subscribers (including mobile and Fixed Wireless Access) stood at 1,273.31 million, registering a net addition of 6.97 million and a growth rate of 0.55 per cent. Within this, urban wireless connections grew to 730.75 million (growth 0.70 per cent), while rural wireless subscribers reached 542.56 million (growth 0.35 per cent).
Wireline subscribers, though much smaller in scale, showed slightly faster growth. The total wireline base increased to 47.99 million, with a net addition of 0.34 million and a monthly growth rate of 0.70 per cent. Urban areas continued to dominate wireline connections with a share of 89.41 per cent.
Overall tele-density in India improved to 92.66 per cent. Urban tele-density stood at 150.68 per cent, while rural tele-density edged up to 60.02 per cent.
The broadband subscriber base crossed a significant milestone, reaching 1,059.05 million at the end of February 2026. This reflected a healthy net addition of 6.33 million subscribers and a monthly growth rate of 0.60 per cent from January’s figure of 1,052.72 million.
Segment-wise, mobile wireless access continued to drive the majority of growth with 996.52 million subscribers. Fixed Wireless Access (including 5G FWA) added 16.51 million, while wired broadband stood at 46.02 million.
Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. maintained its commanding lead with 519.64 million broadband subscribers. Bharti Airtel Ltd. followed with 364.14 million, Vodafone Idea Ltd. with 129.36 million, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. with 28.70 million, and Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd. with 2.38 million.
Together, these top five players command a massive 98.60 per cent share of the total broadband market.
In the wireless (mobile) segment, private operators continued to dominate with 92.59 per cent market share, leaving public sector undertakings (BSNL and MTNL) with just 7.41 per cent.
Out of the total 1,257.29 million wireless (mobile) subscribers, 1,177.60 million were active on the peak Visitor Location Register (VLR) date, representing an impressive 93.66 per cent activity rate. Bharti Airtel led in this metric with 99.42 per cent of its subscribers active.
Meanwhile, 14.47 million subscribers submitted requests for Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in February, indicating healthy competition and customer churn across zones.
While urban areas still lead in absolute numbers, rural connectivity is slowly catching up. Rural wireless tele-density stood at 59.46 per cent, compared with the much higher urban figure of 142.32 per cent.
Fixed Wireless Access using 5G technology also showed promising traction, growing to 11.93 million subscribers. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are the primary players driving this segment.
The data paints a picture of a maturing yet still rapidly expanding telecom ecosystem. With total telephone subscribers now well past the 1.32 billion mark and broadband users comfortably above 1.06 billion, India continues to solidify its position as one of the world’s largest and most dynamic digital markets.
From bustling city streets to remote villages, more Indians are staying connected than ever before proving that when it comes to telecom, the country’s appetite for growth shows no signs of hanging up anytime soon.
