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

Parvathy’s campus film Varthamanam has been rejected for screening by the Kerala regional workplace of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Directed by Sidhartha Siva, the film revolves round Parvathy’s character who goes to the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) with a purpose to analysis a freedom fighter.
Talking about Varthamanam, its scriptwriter and Congress chief Aryadan Shoukath informed 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 chief and censor board member Adv V Sandeep Kumar had tweeted about Varthamanam, saying it’s anti-national in nature and may disrupt peace. The tweet has since then been deleted.

The tweet learn, “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 put up, screenwriter Aryadan Shoukath responded by way of a Facebook put up, “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 launched in March by Mammootty which confirmed a hijab-clad Parvathy. The film additionally stars Roshan Mathew and Dain Davis.