Reel rockers: (From left) Bérénice Marlohe, Daniel Craig and Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, Craig and his Aston Martin DB5

While debating whether or not to let through the naked shower clinch between 007 and the latest Bond beauty, Bérénice Marlohe, a French actress who plays the seductive Sévérine in a gambling joint in Macau, India’s censors may be completely thrown by the suggestion of gay sex.

The moment occurs when Bond (Daniel Craig) is captured by the villain of the film, Raul Silva, played by the distinguished Spanish actor, Javier Bardem. The latter has dyed his hair blonde for the role and, of course, it fits in with the English psyche that the villain is foreign.

When Bond is captured by Silva, whose hideout is an abandoned island, the latter unbuttons 007’s shirt and allows himself a faint whimper of pleasure. “You are trying to remember your training,” he murmurs to Bond.

Silva had once been an MI6 operative working in Hong Kong for the British but had been exchanged with the Chinese, who were “already on to him”, for six other British agents. He is now seeking revenge against Bond’s handler, M (played for the seventh time by Dame Judi Dench), whom he holds responsible for the terrible torture the Chinese inflicted upon him.

He and Bond are “the last two rats” left alive from their batch, comments Silva. Either they can eat each other as rats sometimes do or they can, well, do something else. Silva runs his fingers over Bond’s bare skin and scars left by shrapnel.

“Well, first time for everything,” he taunts Bond.

A pause before Bond retorts deadpan: “What makes you think this is my first time...”

From the audience come gasps of surprise, followed by embarrassed laughter.

Since there is an attempt generally to drag Bond into the modern world, this cameo might be considered a small concession to the gay lobby.

Daniel Craig, who is probably the best Bond after Sean Connery, has been rushing from talk show to chat show in the last few days, promoting Skyfall. When asked about the gay sex scene, he smiled and dismissed it as gentle flirting. Whether Indian censors will take a similarly broadminded view remains to be seen.

There is actually less straight sex in Skyfall than audiences have come to expect in Bond films. So what are the bits that Indian audiences won’t see?

Of course, there is violence in the film — there always is — but no more than in many Hindi movies.

Sadly, the bits the Indian audiences won’t see are the sections of Skyfall that were not filmed in India. The word is that the Indian authorities placed so many restrictions on the producers that they got fed up and went elsewhere — to Turkey and to China.

There have been reports that director Sam Mendes and producer Barbara Broccoli wanted certain scenes to be shot in the Sarojini Nagar area of New Delhi and on railway lines between Goa and Ahmedabad.

There were problems getting an agreement on the closing sections of the Konkan Railway. Having dragged their feet, the Indian authorities grudgingly gave permission but with new conditions attached. But by then the decision had been taken to shoot in Turkey — the scenes are reminiscent of the very first Bond film Dr No — and in Shanghai. The night scenes in Shanghai make the city look more like New York than New York. All over the world, audiences will take away an image of China as a successful, thrusting economy. It’s another Indian opportunity blown.

It is worth making clear that the Queen does not make an appearance in Skyfall though her contribution during the Olympic Games has done wonders for the Bond phenomenon. It is also worth stressing that Bond is British, an agent with a double “0” licence to kill. There is an unwritten code among British reviewers and the media in general that each new Bond film has to be met with uncritical acclaim. This is because the franchise is a huge money spinner and has provided employment to thousands of people in Britain.

However, in the 50 years since Dr No, social attitudes have undergone a revolution in Britain. Ian Fleming created a character set in the 1950s. Bond’s attitude to women and to sex would be considered totally unacceptable today. The modern Bonds are an attempt to locate 007 in contemporary times but that is also messing with a formula that has stood the test of time.

Skyfall begins with the now compulsory 10-15-minute action sequence at the start. Bond’s colleague is Eve, played by the black British actress, Naomie Harris. The fight between Bond and a French mercenary, Patrice, comes to a climax on a moving train. Indians will be reminded of Shah Rukh Khan’s rendering of Chhaiya chhaiya in Dil Se except this time it is a fight to the death.

This sequence will give much pleasure to Ratan Tata and the board of Jaguar Land Rover, for Eve follows the speeding train in a sturdy vehicle — the tried and trusted Land Rover Defender.

A fifth of the visual effects in Skyfall was done in Bangalore, incidentally, by the Moving Picture Company.

Both Bond and Eve are wired via a satellite link to M back in her office in the MI6 headquarters in London. Her priority is to stop Patrice who has killed an MI6 agent and, worse, stolen a disc with the identities of British agents embedded in numerous terrorist organisations.

She orders Eve to shoot Patrice as he and Bond are locked in combat, rather like Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland in The Final Problem.

“It’s not clean, report I don’t have a clean shot,” shouts Eve.

“Take a shot, I said take a shot,” orders M.

“I can’t…”

“Take the bloody shot…” Eve does — and it is Bond who is seen plunging into the deep waters below.

His body hits the water with an almighty splash.

“Agent down,” records a distressed Eve.

He is listed as presumed dead.

Cut to the opening credits and the song, Skyfall (This is the end… hold your breath and count to ten), sung by Adele, rather in the haunting manner of Shirley Bassey.

After 50 years, there are several nods to history. The final violent encounter between Bond and Silva takes place in the desolate Scottish highlands where 007 has arrived accompanied by M in a 1963-vintage Aston Martin DB5 complete with machine-gun lights and ejector seat.

Indian censors may wish to trim some of the violence on the grounds they appear more realistic than in Hindi movies but the producers will probably press for the whole film to be passed unscathed. In the UK, theatres have been running houseful since Skyfall was released on October 26.

Skyfall releases in India on November1.