Parvathy-starrer Varthamanam, set in JNU, rejected by Kerala censor board

Varthamanam's first poster was released in March by Mammootty which showed a hijab-clad Parvathy. The movie also stars Roshan Mathew and Dain Davis.

Parvathy’s campus movie Varthamanam has been rejected for screening by the Kerala regional office of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Directed by Sidhartha Siva, the movie revolves around Parvathy’s character who goes to the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in order to research a freedom fighter.

Talking about Varthamanam, its scriptwriter and Congress leader Aryadan Shoukath told The News Minute, “It is set against the Delhi campus of the JNU and the student movement there. It shows how all of them come together despite political differences, and shows very secular ideas.”

“We have received a notice from the board that the film has been sent to a revising committee. No reason has been mentioned in it,” Shoukath added.

On Sunday, BJP leader and censor board member Adv V Sandeep Kumar had tweeted about Varthamanam, saying it is anti-national in nature and can disrupt peace. The tweet has since then been deleted.

The tweet read, “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.”

Reacting to Sandeep Kumar’s now-deleted post, screenwriter Aryadan Shoukath responded via a Facebook post, “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. 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.”

Varthamanam’s first poster was released in March by Mammootty which showed a hijab-clad Parvathy. The movie also stars Roshan Mathew and Dain Davis.

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