Phule Controversy Explained: Why Brahmin Community's Anger Against Pratik Gandhi's Film On Casteism Delayed It By 2 Weeks

Ananth Mahadevan directorial Phule has been grabbing headlines ever since the trailer was released two weeks ago. The filmmaker in a recent interaction opened up about what’s the controversy is all about and why the film has been delayed.

No cuts, but amendments: Ananth Mahadevan on Phule controversy

Directorial Ananth Mahadevan said in an interview with PTI,  how the controversy surrounding the film has dragged unnecessarily. He also cleared the air that the CBFC has suggested few amendments and not cuts in the Pratik Gandhi starrer.

Why Phule has been delayed?

The controversy began when President of the Brahmin Federation accused Phule for promoting casteism after viewing the trailer. He even called out the makers for the recognition of black-Brahmin community, who he has claimed of supporting the film during the reform moments. Post the backlash, Dave also demanded a more intricate portrayal of the contributions of progressive Brahmins. As per reports, the makers of the Phule even defended their claim by submitting historical documents to validate their claims presented in the film.

In an interaction with ANI, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi President Prakash Ambedkar, led a protest against the Censor Board in response to the decision.   While speaking to ANI, he strongly opposed the move and said the cuts would affect the film’s purpose. He added, if the scenes are removed, the purpose of the film would be lost and if they order the cuts, we will protest at their office.

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Cuts issued by CBFC for Phule

The CBFC had issued ‘U’ certificate to the makers this month and had asked them to make changes like removing terms such as 'Mang', 'Mahar' and 'Peshwai', the visual of 'man carrying a broom' was to be replaced with 'boys throwing cow dung balls at Savitribai', and the line ‘3000 saal purani gulami’ to be modified as ‘Kai saal purani’, among a few other things.

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All about Phule

Helmed by Ananth Mahadevan, the film stars Pratik Gandhi, Darsheel Safari, Alex O’Nell, Patralekhaa, Vinay Pathak, Joy Sengupta, Richard Bhakti Klein, Jeet Raidutt, Akshaya Gurav, Sushil Pandey, Asit Redji and Krisheka Patel among others.

Phule tells the story of social reformers Jyotirao Govindrao Phule and his wife Savitribai Phule. It offers a glimpse into the relentless struggle of the legendary reformers while they attempted to change the status quo of the women, particularly widows and Dalits. The biopic which was set to release today, ie, April 11, will now be releasing in cinemas on April 25.

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