Why was the ‘Indiana Jones’ sequel banned in India?
Indiana Jones has become a modern staple of the action-adventure genre as the movie world has expanded. Inspired by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg’s love for the classic movie serials, the tale of a gun-toting, whip-wielding archaeologist made for some of the best movie moments of the 1980s, from Jones outrunning a boulder to shooting a man in the middle of a swordfight. Though Raiders of the Lost Ark wielded a hefty payday for everyone involved, things got a little tricky when it came time to make the sequel.
Compared to the original, Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom is both adult-oriented and kid-friendly at the same time. Set before the events of Raiders, the story involves Indy working with his trusty sidekick Short Round and making their way through a fascinating island where they come across a cult looking to kill them. While most kids could have seen themselves in this little kid working with one of the best adventures in the world, there were a few moments left to people’s imagination rather than put to screen.
Although most of the film kept the spirit of traditional Indiana Jones stories, one scene resulted in the movie being banned in India. During the film, there’s a scene in which the cult conducts their ritualistic sacrifice, which involves the cult leader throwing the victim into a lake of fire. Before he perishes, the leader grabs ahold of the man and rips out his heart, only for the heart to catch fire when the man finally goes down into the pit.
Despite the content not being suitable for children, India took offence to the scene, thinking it painted a broad negative stereotype of their people. While Steven Spielberg had initially wanted to film in India for some of the shots, he worked predominantly in Sri Lanka instead to get a similar scenic landscape.
Outside of the infamous torture scene, other parts of the movie certainly don’t appear suitable for children. During a particular exchange, when the gang first reach the island, they are served dinner, which features soup with eyeballs floating in it. Shortly after that, Jones is confronted by a henchman in his bedroom, and he subdues him by tangling him in the noose and the ceiling fan by his throat, effectively strangling him to death.
Though India might have had one specific bone to pick with the film’s content, the rest of Hollywood tended to agree, thinking that this movie was far too dark to be associated with children’s entertainment. From this point forward, the MPAA would enforce the ‘PG-13’ rating for films, thinking it set a bar for what’s allowed in cinema without worrying about traumatising young viewers.
Despite sticking to his guns at the time, Spielberg also hasn’t looked back fondly on the film, believing that it didn’t match the same heights he had set out for with the character. This also marked a specific change in Spielberg’s directing style as well. While he wasn’t shy about using blood and death in his movies, Spielberg’s subsequent films would take death and destruction much more seriously, eventually making movies like Schindler’s List about how horrific death can be. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom might not have been a box office bomb, but it was a game-changer in how Hollywood viewed violence in movies.
