The Producers Guild of India has lauded the censor board for allowing the makers of Tamil movie “Mersal” — in news for comments critical of GST and Digital India — to express themselves with freedom.
The movie has released, and the makers faced stringent opposition from the Tamil Nadu unit of BJP, which demanded removal of specific dialogues.
Siddharth Roy Kapur, President of the Producers Guild of India, said in a statement: “We applaud the CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification) for standing by the freedom of expression of the filmmakers of ‘Mersal’, and for permitting them to air contrarian opinions on current issues voiced by certain characters in their film.”
“It is at such times, when we uphold the rights of our artistes to voice diverse opinions through their work, that we showcase the best of who we are as a country. We would now expect the relevant authorities to ensure that any coercion on the filmmakers from any quarters whatsoever to make changes to their film, is dealt with firmly, and to ensure that a film which has been duly certified is allowed to be screened without any disruption,” Kapur was quoted by IANS.
Noted lyricist Prasoon Joshi had recently replaced the controversial Pahlaj Nihalani as the new CBFC chief.
Meanwhile, contrary to media reporters, the producers of Mersal have now confirmed that they had no plan to delete the controversial scene on GST.
A tweet by Hema Rukmani said, “No scenes cut or muted in #Mersal Enjoy #Thalapathy swag. Poomanathu Pichaatha thunai #SilakkiDum #TSL100 #PeaceBro @ThenandalFilms.”
Meanwhile the controversial scene on GST in Tamil film ‘Mersal’ starring Vijay has gone viral on social media platforms particularly after the BJP registered its protest demanding its deletion.
The scene has become the dominant theme of social media conversations after a BJP minister took strong objection to the references to GST in the film and demanded its removal. The filmmakers have reportedly agreed to delete the scene. But this hasn’t stopped the scene from going viral.
In the clip (below) the protagonist Vijay is seen lashing out at the establishment while slamming the GST. In his monologue, Vijay is seen referring to Singapore, which levies only 7% GST and can afford to provide free healthcare services. However, India is unable to provide the same while levying a 28% GST. An angry Vijay, while speaking to reporters in the film, also talks about the children’s deaths in Gorakhpur hospital.