Director MS Raj’s Marina Purtachi has been cleared with U certificate, after many cuts and mutes by the revising committee of the Censor Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
The film is based on the 8 day protest in January 2017, when Tamil people across the world demanded a removal of the ban on Jallikattu. The film’s spokesperson told Silverscreen, “The revising committee, headed by actress Gautami, refused to certify the film for no valid reason. When they sent it to the second revising committee, we approached the court.”
In January 2019, the Madras High Court asked the CBFC to clear the film in seven days starting from the day the director produces proof that the film has no harmful content. The second revising committee in Hyderabad, headed by actress Jeevitha, took over the matter. “They watched the film in January, and three months later, they have issued a clearance now with many cuts,” the source said.
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The makers organised a press meet in Chennai recently and announced the the film will mostly release this month. It was initially scheduled for Pongal in January 2019. Director Raj had told Silverscreen, “This is the second year Jallikattu will happen. We wanted to release the film during Pongal, so we had planned accordingly and sent it to the censor board early in September last year.” He added, “The film is based on Jallikattu protests and the truth behind it. There is absolutely nothing against the government or religious sentiments of people. We only want to tell people what exactly happened. I cannot suspect any political motive behind this.”
The film has already been screened in many film festivals in the USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and Canada. Naveen and Shruthi, who had both participated in the protests in 2017, star in the film. Actor Raj Mohan of Put Chutney fame, a popular YouTube channel, has an important role. The film is produced by Nachiyal Films. Cinematography is by Velraj, who has worked on Vada Chennai, Kadaikutty Singam and other films.