Mumbai, July 28 -- Pooja Bhatt isn't convinced that Bollywood could make a film like Zakhm in today's India. The actor-filmmaker, who produced and starred in the 1998 classic, has questioned whether its explosive story of religious identity, communal riots and political manipulation would even be allowed to reach theatres in 2026.

During a conversation with film archivist and author SMM Ausaja on The Pooja Bhatt Show, Pooja spoke about growing censorship and how writers now begin censoring themselves even before putting pen to paper.

"But we are self-censoring also, na? Before even writing a line, we are now thinking 10 times about how we may offend," she said. Pooja then recalled the "nightmare" her family faced while trying to release...