Lorien Motion Pictures has moved the India release of Bokshi from October 9 to December 4, 2026, after the film took a longer route through the Central Board of Film Certification. The folk-horror feature, starring Prasanna Bisht, was cleared by the CBFC’s Revising Committee with an ‘A’ certificate and what the makers describe as minimal modifications.
The production house announced the revised date on October 8. In its statement, the banner explained that the Examining Committee had referred the film over its supernatural themes, depiction of witchcraft, and what was flagged as gruesome violence and bloodshed. The Revising Committee subsequently cleared it, but the detour consumed time the team says it wants back for a full theatrical campaign.
A festival-tested genre film
Directed by Bhargav Saikia in his feature debut and written by Harsh Vaibhav, Bokshi follows Anahita, a troubled teenager whose school trek to a remote prehistoric site draws her toward an ancient legend. The cast includes Mansi Multani and Siddharth Shaw, with Shernaz Patel voicing the titular character.
The film arrives with a credible festival record: it premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2025 and has since screened at Sitges, Neuchâtel and SXSW Sydney. It is multilingual, using Hindi, English and Nepali alongside Boksirit, a fictional language created for the film by Dutch linguist Jan van Steenbergen.
Why December makes sense
For a genre film built on atmosphere and mythology, the shift is more than a scheduling fix. The December date gives the team room to run a fuller theatrical campaign and open in select cinemas rather than rush a wide release. The trailer has already drawn an encouraging response, particularly among younger audiences and fans of horror cinema.
The ‘A’ certificate also positions the film clearly: this is not a softened folk tale but an adults-only horror experience. That can work as a credibility signal for horror audiences even as it narrows the potential audience pool.
- Original date: October 9, 2026; new date: December 4, 2026
- Certificate: ‘A’ from the CBFC Revising Committee, with minimal modifications
- Pedigree: premiered at Rotterdam 2025; screened at Sitges, Neuchâtel and SXSW Sydney
- Cast: Prasanna Bisht, Mansi Multani, Siddharth Shaw; Shernaz Patel voices Bokshi
What the detour teaches
For independent genre filmmakers, Bokshi‘s path is a reminder that certification timelines deserve the same planning as marketing. Announce a date only once the certificate is in hand, or keep a buffer wide enough to shift without losing campaign equity. A delay need not read as trouble when the genre’s audiences already treat festival pedigree and an ‘A’ rating as markers of intent.
Source: bollywoodHungama.com
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