KOCHI: The regional office of the Censor Board of Film Certification recently denied certificate of clearance to Parvathy Thiruvoth-starrrer Varthamanam. Written and produced by Congress leader Aryadan Shoukath and helmed by actor-director Sidhartha Siva, the film is set in the backdrop of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).
In a tweet, Advocate V Sandeep Kumar, a CBFC member and a BJP SC Morcha state vice-president, said that the film glorifies anti-national elements. “The film talks about how Dalits and Muslims were tortured during the protests in JNU. I was against it. The reason? The film’s writer-producer Aryadan Shoukath,” according to the tweet, which was deleted later.
Meanwhile, Shoukath, on the other hand, said that he would go to any extent to make sure that people get to watch the film. “The film talks about a Muslim girl from Malappuram, who goes to JNU to pursue her PhD. She is doing research on freedom fighter Mohammed Abdur Rahman Sahib. JNU is a campus where students are united in their fight against the forces that try to destroy the spirit and unity of the country. Naturally, she gets attracted to it and joins the student struggle,” says Shoukath.
Reacting to Kumar’s tweet through a Facebook post, he asked how talking about student protests and democracy becomes anti-national. The makers are now planning to approach the Review Committee for Censor Board approval.