Apr 20, 2025 10:54 AM IST
Days after CBFC suggested some changes be made in Phule, Ananth Mahadevan shared that he wouldn’t like his film “to be touched” for “innocuous changes”.
Phule director Ananth Mahadevan, whose film became the centre of a controversy, has said that a section of the people watched the trailer of the film and “jumped the gun”. Speaking with the Times of India, Ananth said that we are an “immature society” that has “regressed in many ways”. The Phule director also spoke about the “tweaks” made by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), adding that he wouldn’t like his “film to be touched”. (Also Read | Anurag Kashyap apologises after complaint over his Brahmin remark in Phule row; asks trolls to spare women in his family)
Ananth Mahadevan calls society immature, self-centred
Ananth was asked if there was a solution to the “issue of people jumping the gun” without knowing something in its entirety. He replied, “I don’t think so. Not even in the future, because we are an immature society. This comes forth either through some unnecessary prejudices or provocations or whatever, but we do not seem to have progressed. In fact, we seem to have regressed in many ways…caste discrimination and gender discrimination continue to plague our society…We are still so self-centred and materialistic. Technological advancements do not cover up your social regressions.”
Ananth Mahadevan on changes suggested by CBFC
He also spoke about the tweaks advised by the CBFC. “I am quite amused at these things, because it was not something so major to be labelled fair or unfair. As a filmmaker, I would not like my film to be touched, and that too with such insignificant and innocuous changes. I don’t understand why we are so nervous about how people will react, or how sensitive they are. I think we should respect the sensibilities and the sensitivities of the audience. This film does not exaggerate or fictionalise history.”
About Phule and its row
Phule is based on the lives of social reformers Jyotirao Govindrao Phule and his wife Savitribai Phule. Jyotirao fought against caste discrimination. The film was scheduled to release on April 11 but has been delayed by two weeks. It will now hit the theatres on April 25. A section of the Brahmin community had raised objections to the film. The CBFC also suggested certain amendments be made in the film before it’s released. The film stars Pratik Gandhi and Patralekhaa.
