Director Ram’s upcoming Taramani has been certified ‘A’ or for ‘Adults only’. The makers haven’t resorted to writing open-letters or long posts on social media ridiculing the Censor Board’s decision, but have chosen to take tongue-in-cheek jabs at the certifying authority.
Without really revealing what might have resulted in the film getting an ‘A’ certificate, the latest posters of the film sarcastically call out the censor board’s double standards.
#Taramani #Aug11th pic.twitter.com/sfSGG8btOk
— Ram (@Director_Ram) July 23, 2017
“According to the Censor Board, if a man consumes liquor ‘raw’, it is ‘U/A’, but when a woman does the same, it is ‘A’. Therefore, Taramani is certified ‘A’,” reads the poster.
The film’s next poster involves an exchange of messages between a couple. The man wants to watch an ‘A’ rated movie, but the woman is not invited to join him.
#Taramani #August11th pic.twitter.com/SbMs3yqh4X
— Ram (@Director_Ram) July 24, 2017
“Why are you leaving me when going for a movie?”
“It’s an ‘A’ film, baby.”
“Fish u…do you think only men are adults?”
And, the final poster is a dig at the general double standards women battle. The man (presumably the boyfriend) tells the girl to not talk too much. “Be careful. Don’t talk much. These days, they arrest people under the Goondas Act,” he says.
#Taramani #August11th @thisisysr #NaMuthukumar @JSKfilmcorp @andrea_jeremiah @yoursanjali pic.twitter.com/iDiIxgcO7X
— Ram (@Director_Ram) July 25, 2017
Starring Andrea Jeremiah, Vasanth Ravi and Anjali, the film began production in 2013 and has been subjected to various postponements. The film explores romance in a contemporary, urban setting. A quirky teaser and a fun trailer later, the film is finally hitting screens.
Interestingly, Ram’s views on the Censor Board are well known. In an interview with Times of India early this year, the director opened up about certification. “The practice of imposing tax on films based on whether it is certified ‘U’ or ‘U/A’ should be revised. There are many instances where a film has managed to obtain a ‘U’ certificate despite having explicit content, and getting tax-exemption.”
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But, the director also said that a Censor Board was essential “in a sensitive society like ours, where moral policing is rampant… There should be a body to monitor content till we are all mature enough to appreciate cinema as an art form”.
In an earlier interview to Silverscreen, director Ram spoke about how women were becoming more self-reliant and said the film also explored that theme. “Globalisation created a liberal space for women to express themselves. It gave them an identity, beyond the usual tags of mother, sister, wife and daughter…However, are the men who live and work with them able to understand the change? That’s one of the questions Taramani deals with,” he said.
The film is scheduled for an August 11 release.