MUMBAI: Weeks after the film was embroiled in controversy that was to its own making, the MPAA has lowered the rating of Lee Hirsch‘s documentary Bully from an R to a PG-13, it is understood.
 
The decision came after three uses of the "f-word" were removed from the film. However, the scene that has been amid the controversy - the one that shows teen Alex Libby being bullied and harassed on a bus-has been left untouched and unedited.
 
The MPAA is also allowing the film to be released with the new rating before 90 days, which is the length of time their policy states a film must wait to be in theaters after a rating change "to avoid confusion or inconvenience for moviegoers."
 
Now, Bully‘s release will expand to 55 markets on 13 April with its new rating. It had opened last weekend in New York and Los Angeles without the MPAA rating.
 
The new rating also grants the schools, organizations and cities the opportunity to share the film as an educational tool.
Weinstein Co. had appealed the "R" earlier this year and sought a less-restrictive rating, but the MPAA refused to budge. Director Lee Hirsch could edit out the objectionable words, but has declined to make changes arguing the language is essential to the story.
 
The Weinstein Co. has decided to release the documentary without a US film rating after failing to persuade the Motion Picture Association of America to change to one that is less restrictive.
 
The MPAA, which represents Hollywood‘s major movie studios in governmental matters, rates films for content such as sex, violence and language to give audiences an idea of what will be in the movies they see.