Parvathy starrer Varthamanam denied permission for screening because of “anti-national elements”

Parvathy Thiruvothu's upcoming film Varthamanam has been denied permission for screening by the Kerala regional office of the Censor Board of Film Certification. Writer Aryadan Shoukath said that they received a letter from the censor board without specifying any reasons.

Directed by Sidhartha Siva, Parvathy plays the role of a Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student who researches on the life of a freedom fighter. While the censor board has not specified the reason for denying permission, a BJP leader and advocate V Sandeep Kumar, who is also a member of the censor board tweeted that the film is critical of right-wing politics.

In the now deleted tweet, Sandeep Kumar wrote that the theme of the film was anti-national. “I saw the movie Varthamanam as a member of the censor board. The topic was the persecution of Dalits and Muslims in the JNU agitation. I opposed it. Because Aryadan Shoukath was the screenwriter and producer of the film. Of course, the theme of the film was anti-national," he wrote in his tweet.

Meanwhile, the film's writer Aryadan Shoukath is a Congress politician, scriptwriter and producer of the film. Reacting to BJP leader Sandeep's tweet, he wrote, "How is it anti-national when you talk about the student protests in a Delhi campus, about the fight for democracy in India? It is all there in censor board member and BJP leader Adv V Sandeep's tweet."

He further added, "We still live in a country that is a democratic, secular, socialist republic. Does one check the clan and race of the scriptwriter before giving permission for its screening? Cannot accept the undeclared emergency situation in the cultural field."

The film has now been sent to the revising committee. Reportedly, the censor board has suggested a few cuts.

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