Phule director Ananth Mahadevan clarifies film's release delayed to clear controversy, calls the issue 'a little exaggerated and unnecessary'

The film, which chronicles the lives and legacy of social reformers Jyotirao Govindrao Phule and Savitribai Phule, was originally slated to hit theatres on April 11. It will now release on April 25.

The release of the upcoming film Phule, starring Pratik Gandhi and Patralekhaa, has been delayed, not due to the censor board’s suggested changes, but because of objections raised by members of the Brahmin community, director Ananth Mahadevan clarified on Friday.

The film, which chronicles the lives and legacy of social reformers Jyotirao Govindrao Phule and Savitribai Phule, was originally slated to hit theatres on April 11. It will now release on April 25.

Although the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) granted the film a ‘U’ certificate on April 7, it also suggested several alterations. These included removing terms like ‘Mang’, ‘Mahar’, and ‘Peshwai’; replacing a scene showing a man carrying a broom with one where boys throw cow dung at Savitribai; and modifying the phrase ‘3,000 saal purani gulami’ to a more general ‘kai saal purani’. A few other minor tweaks were also requested.

'They had suggested some amendments, I wouldn’t call it cuts. I want to clarify that there are no cuts as such. We did so (complied with the suggested amendments). They felt that the film should be watched by youth and everyone and it’s very educational. I don’t know why this whole storm of conflict and counter arguments are happening, it’s a little exaggerated and unnecessary," Mahadevan told in an interview with PTI.

Following the release of the Phule trailer on April 10, certain members of the Brahmin community voiced concerns over their potrayal in the film. Anand Dave, president of the Maharashtra-based organisation Hindu Mahasangh, expressed disappointment after watching the trailer. He stated that the film seems to focus only on negative aspects of the Brahmin community, which he believes is an unfair and one-sided portrayal.

Speaking to PTI, Anand said, "The trailer shows a Brahmin boy throwing cow dung at Savitribai Phule. We understand that we need to show the good and the bad. But we can’t see the good things done by the community, like how Brahmin people supported Mahatma Phule. It is unfair to show only the bad things done by Brahmins.  If they want to earn money by showing casteism, then it’s not right. People across India and globally will not think of the Brahmins in a good way. When we expressed our disappointment to Ananth Mahadevan he said, ‘He has not done any injustice to the community, and has sought 15 days of time from us’."

Mahadevan stated that the main reason for postponing the release of Phule is to clear the controversy surrounding the film. "They had put their views on social media and then other people also said, ‘Why are Brahmins protesting? The protest started between two groups, we wanted to calm them down, and tell them that, ‘It has nothing what you people are imagining’. We did not want to lose out on the audience… I would rather they come together and see the film peacefully. So, the producer and the distributor got together and thought, ‘Let’s postpone it for two more weeks and clear all the controversies, talk to the media and let it reach them’.”

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Mahadevan also remarked that “Brahmins got carried away by a two-minute trailer” but there is nothing worth any objection in the film. He also added further saying there there was no plan to show the movie to the Brahmin community before its release. "I’m a Brahmin myself, and I would not malign my community. I want everyone to calm down and understand that we’ve made a film that is supposed to inspire and change. When they see the film they will understand but all this can’t be shown in a two-minute trailer, we can only show dramatic snippets,” he said.

Backed by Dancing Shiva Films and Kingsmen Productions, Phule will be released in theatres by Zee Studios.

(With inputs from PTI)