Censors refer Iruvar to home dept
CHENNAI
Regional chief of the censor board here G. Rajasekharan said on Thursday that the Tamil film Iruvar (The Duo), produced by Mani Ratnam, was referred to the home department for “advice”, as the film portrayed the personal lives of some politicians in the state, which, if not deleted, might ultimately, lead to law and order problem.
One of the censor board rules stipulate that “the board of film certification shall ensure that the public order is not endangered”, and therefore, the film was referred to the home department for advice, he said in a statement.
Referring to Mani Ratnam’s interviews to some magazines describing the censor board as “spineless”, Mr Rajasekharan said the film was referred to the home department only with a sense of responsibility.
Tracing the developments, he said the ‘examining committee” of the board which saw the film on December 31 last, opined that various characters in the film reflected the personal lives of some politicians and accordingly the certificate was denied. Following the producer’s protest, it was seen by an eigth-member revising committee headed by the “designated board member” on January 2, which suggested deletion of some objectionable portions and cleared the film for “UA’ certification.
Mr Rajasekharan said the censor board chief, accepting the recommendations of the revising committee, suggested that it be referred to the home department as the screening of the film might lead to law and order problems.
The committee headed by the home secretary saw the film and recommended deletion of four dialogues. The producer was asked by a “show cause notice” whether he agreed to the cuts made by the revising committee and the home department. Only when the producer agreed to the cuts in writing, the certificate was issued on January 11.
“There is no violation of law” as charged by Mani Ratnam. If the producer felt that there was any violation of law, he could have very well gone to a tribunal or a court. It was not the first time that a film had been referred to the home department. Even the film Bombay was referred to Maharashtra government, he said.
PTI
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