In the wake of the incident of censor board denying permission to release Malayalam movie “Kathakali”, the makers of the film along with Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) staged a protest here on Monday.
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A week after the censorship debate over Bollywood film Udta Punjab, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has now got into a tussle with the Malayalam film industry after denial of certificate to the movie ‘Kathakali’ on grounds of nudity.
The two-hour film on the life of a Kathakali artiste is directed by Sijo Kannanaikkal.
Censor certification is not required to apply for most global festivals. Directors Sibi Malayil, T V Chandran, Fefka general secretary B Unnikrishnan and dubbing artist Bhagyalakshmi led the protest in which Kannanaikkal also took part. It is not up to the censor board to decide what is to be shown in a film and what not to be. “But, the board could not understand the soul of the movie”, he said.
According to the chairman of Censor Board Sindh, Fakhr-Alam, they have asked the distributor to delete certain scenes due to the abusive language. He alleged that the Board’s move was an infringement on the creative freedom of a filmmaker and his hardships and toils to make his dreams a reality. After producers challenged the order refusing to make so many edits, the Bombay High Court which ordered that the film be released with a single cut and three disclaimers.
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Talking to mediapersons later, Regional Censor Officer A. Prathibha said the filmmaker had not yet responded to a letter issued by the Board. “I do not want to comment further on the matter”.
