Indian audiences indeed got to watch “Sinners” — just not the way the rest of the world did. And one scene especially irked moviegoers.

This hallucinatory sequence takes place at the midpoint inside Club Juke, when Sammie’s (Miles Caton) soul-stirring blues music becomes so transcendental that it conjures the spirits of the past and future. The guests rejoice, drinks in hand, while puffing on cigarettes. But in Indian cinemas, this immersive sequence gets interrupted — not by a vampire, but a certain disclaimer in an oversized font, stating, “Smoking and alcohol consumption are injurious to health.”

These health warnings are enforced by the Central Board of Film Certification (Cbfc), aka Censor Board, due to a government mandate. The statutory film certification body, under the Indian government, has the authority to suggest cuts and edits to movies before clearing a film for release. On scrutinizing the Cbfc certificate available in the public domain,...