The Donald Trump biopic, The Apprentice has not had its theatrical release in India so far as its makers turned down the Censor Board's recommendations. The board asked the makers to cut out certain portions in the film, but they declined its demand. It was slated for an October 18 release in India, but as it has missed out on it, director Ali Abbasi has come out strongly against the Censor Board.

Taking to X, Abbasi wrote, "I don’t know what the hell is wrong with these people! I ran away from Iranian censorship only to meet corporate censorship of the US. Now India! Really? Censorship seems to be an epidemic at the moment. We need a VACCINE!"

According to reports, the board wanted the makers to cut out sex sequences from the film. One of those sequences is Trump committing a sexual assault against Ivana Trump. According to reports, the original version of the film had a limited screening on October 16 in Mumbai.

The feature film stars Sebastian Stan as a young Donald Trump and Jeremy Strong as his mentor, attorney Roy Cohn. It chronicles Trump's media life with Strong guiding him through the world of media.

Reportedly, the Censor Board also kept Dev Patel's recent film Monkey Man from releasing in India owing to its political theme.