New Delhi, Union Minister Suresh Gopi on Thursday asserted that the censor board never put any pressure on the makers of Malayalam film ‘L2: Empuraan’, which is now being shown in theatres after multiple cuts.
The minister’s remarks came amid a backlash, especially from the right wing, which forced the makers of the film to go for re-censoring of the movie, which has been a commercial success.
“There was no censor pressure on the producer of Empuraan. I was the first person to call the producers and ask them to delete my name in the credits of the beginning of the film. This is the truth,” Gopi said.
He was replying to CPI MP John Brittas, who had on Wednesday decried the cuts in the Mohanlal-starrer L2: Empuraan as an assault on freedom of speech and expression.
Responding to Brittas, Gopi said: “I am ready to take any punishment if this turns out to be false. It was the decision of the producer and the lead actor of the film, with the permission of the director of the film, to remove 17 portions of the film. It was their decision.”
“They are defaming my political party,” he said.
Gopi, himself an actor, took a dig at Brittas and asked him whether his party would be courageous enough to re-release the film ’51 cuts : T P Chandrasekharan’.
“He was talking about a cinema Empuraan yesterday. Does he dare to have a re-release of 51 cuts: T P Chandrasekharan,” the minister said.
The film he mentioned is about Chandrasekharan, a Left party leader, who was hacked to death in 2012 allegedly by his former party workers.
The arguments were exchanged when the Upper House was discussing the Waqf Bill.
“Unfortunate incidents are happening in this country. There is an assault on freedom of speech and expression which is enshrined in the Indian Constitution,” Brittas said, bringing up the issue during Zero Hour.
He also said the movie’s protagonists were depicted as “anti-national”.
George Kurien, Minister of State for Minority Affairs, said the film is against the Christian faith and alleged that “communists” wanted to insult every religion in India.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
