PremiumMarco becomes first Indian action movie to get R21 rating in Singapore, ‘justifies most violent film ever tag’
Unni Mukundan’s Marco was rated R21 by Singapore’s censor board and fans took to social media to comment that it justifies its ‘most violent Indian film ever tag’.
Last Updated: 12.29 PM, Dec 31, 2024
Even before the release of Unni Mukundan’s Marco, the makers of the film had been pitching it as “the most violent Indian film ever”. And true to its tag, the violent action-thriller has now earned an R21 rating from Singapore’s censor board, Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), with the advice of “strong violence and gore”.
Fans were quick to point out that the rating justified the tagline of the film, which was also rated A by India’s Censor Board of Film Certification, ahead of its theatrical release on December 20, 2024.
Why did Marco get R21 rating in Singapore?
Marco had Unni Mukundan essaying the titular character in the film, which had scenes of brutal violence as well as gore, including the dismemberment of people, and animals and also killing of pregnant women and children.
The R21 or Restricted 21 rating means that the film is restricted to adults aged 21 and above only. IMDA justified Marco's R21 rating by explaining that the film contains "prolonged sequences of violence with strong, graphic details of injury and bloodletting" while detailing the sequences.
Even other violent Indian action films, which Marco was compared to, Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal and Prashanth Neel’s Salaar: Part 1 Ceasefire had only got an M18 or Mature 18 rating from the Singapore censor board.
While Marco is the first Indian action film to get an R21 rating, other films such as Mani Ratnam’s Bombay, Rajkummar Rao’s Badhaai Do, Anil Kapoor’s Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, and Ayushmann Khurrana’s Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan also got R21 rating, with the latter three for its “homosexual theme”, according to IMDA website.
Fan reactions for Marco’s R21 rating, usually reserved for Saw franchise
On Reddit, a user who had posted the Singapore rating for the Haneef Adeni directorial, commented, “This rating is usually reserved for exploitation films like the Saw and Terrifier franchise. Never thought a mainstream Indian film will crack it.”
Another user agreed that the movie has the same level of gore as the Hollywood films, while some agreed Marco’s level of violence might be on the level of Korean films, but it’s unfair to compare it to Saw or Terrifier, which would make most people “vomit”. One user pointed out that it could be the violence against children that could have resulted in the R21 rating that films such as Animal and Salaar didn’t receive in Singapore.