Parvathy-starrer Varthamanam denied clearance by regional censor board; writer responds

Adv V Sandeep Kumar, member of Kerala's regional censor board, had tweeted that the film's premise is "anti-national"
Parvathy-starrer Varthamanam denied clearance by regional censor board; writer responds

It has come to light that a new Malayalam film starring Parvathy and directed by Sidhartha Siva, has been denied clearance by Kerala's regional censor board after a member of the board, Adv Sandeep Kumar, tweeted that the film's premise is "anti-national."

The tweet is as follows: "As a censor board member, I saw the film Varthamanam. The subject is the Dalit, Muslim oppression in the JNU protest. I opposed it because the film's writer and producer is Aryadan Shoukath. The film's premise was surely anti-national."

Though Sandeep removed the tweet later, the issue has kicked up a row on social media.

Responding to this, Aryadan Shoukath said, "How is talking about the student protest at a Delhi campus and India's struggle for democracy anti-national? Everything is there in Adv V Sandeep Kumar's tweet. He has publicly stated that the subject is the Dalit, Muslim oppression in the JNU protest and that he objected to the film because its writer and producer is Aryadan Shoukath. We are still living in a democratic, secular and socialist republic. Is a film approved for screening after looking at the caste and lineage of the writer? One cannot approve of an undeclared emergency in the cultural arena."

In the film, Parvathy plays a research student from Kerala enrolled in a college in Delhi. Roshan Mathew and Siddique are also part of the film, which will be now looked at by the revising committee in Mumbai.

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