We are worried for you: Censors to Srinivas Raju

Director Srinivas Raju has got a clearance from the Censor Board for the sequel to Dandupalya, which is as of now titled 2. The director was ready for an A rating from the board but what came as a surprise was a remark by one of the officials, who said: "We are worried for you."

The director recalls, "The board members watched the movie on Sunday and they were scared after watching my film. They were worried about the response and reactions this film would get from various quarters." Raju says he has nothing to be scared of though. "It is a gangster trilogy, and I have done justice to it," he says, and goes on to add, "In fact, the officials said that the movie should be given a rating that is more restrictive than A, especially because it has intense scenes depicting atrocities against women. But, because they had no choice, they had to settle for an A."

Raju had been prepared for many cuts, after the censor board members had watched the movie, but fortunately, they were fewer than what he'd expected. "They have made a little more than 10 cuts," he says. "Of course we argued and there was even an hour-long discussion. The cuts will be made soon. I will be done with them on Monday," says Raju, who is now looking forward to the last of the series. "If this is how they react to 2, I don’t know what will be the reaction to 3," he says.

After having crossed the hurdle with the censors, Srinivas is now having trouble handling the movie’s two heroines, and the conflict over their parts in the sequel. Pooja Gandhi and Sanjjanaa are making headlines for their fight over their respective screen spaces in the movie.

The director, meanwhile, puts it down to a ‘girl fight’. "It is known that nobody can settle a fight between two girls; same is the case with me," he says. "So I don’t even want to get close to it. People wonder why it happens with every Srinivas Raju film. In fact, a few who are critical about me say that this row was planned, and that I am enjoying this adverse publicity. I hope they know that I am staying as far as I can from this fight." 

Srinivas says that his focus is on the characters and not on the heroines’ screen-time. "I am not sure who to believe. At least, my film is in the news for some reason. I hope the two actresses will put in the same effort when the movie requires the right kind of publicity," he says.

With the film clearing the censors, Srinivas hopes to release it by the first week of July. The sequel will be released in Kannada and Telugu simultaneously.