Mumbai, July 27: The latest instalment in the Mission: Impossible series is in cinemas from Friday but it has been learnt that a major plot point has been cut from the Indian release, possibly at the behest of the CBFC.
The climax of Mission: Impossible – Fallout is set in Kashmir and both director McQuarrie and star Tom Cruise have gone at length about featuring the region in the film. McQuarrie has said they wanted a “more politically complex” world for the new Mission: Impossible, and that is how Kashmir found a place in the narrative. They couldn’t get permissions to actually shoot in the state, so New Zealand subbed in for Kashmir.
Understandably, there was significant buzz among Indian fans about how the film will portray the troubled region.
However, when Indian audiences go in to watch Mission: Impossible – Fallout this weekend, they will not see or hear any references to Kashmir in the film. While most of the final action sequence remains in the film, abrupt chopping ensures that we never learn the location. What led the CBFC and Indian distributors to make such drastic cuts to a mainstream blockbuster is unknown at this point.
Reportedly, the plot isn’t affected much, since Kashmir is simply another exotic location for the globe-hopping film. Keen viewers may spot references to the Indian Army, the Nubra Valley and a sign that says ‘Kashmir’ for a fleeting second. However, this makes the cuts even more baffling.
Earlier in the franchise, 2011’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol had a sequence set in Mumbai which remained undisturbed in the Indian release. Mission: Impossible-Fallout stars Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Alec Baldwin, Michelle Monaghan, Ving Rhames and Angela Basset. Rogue Nation writer/director Christopher McQuarrie returns for the sixth installment.
