Based on the life of social reformer Jyotirao Phule and his wife Savitribai Phule, and their fight against Brahmins so that the underprivileged could get more rights, Pratik Gandhi and Patralekha starrer Phule has been embroiled in controversy. While the film was supposed to release on April 11, its release was stalled after a section of a Brahmin community objected to the portrayal of their caste in the film.
Now on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti, filmmaker Anubhav Sinha has strongly reacted to the ongoing controversy. Having headlined projects like Article 14, Mulk, and Bheed, he is known for raising awareness on the socio-political issues of the country through his films. He took to his official Instagram handle to share a collage of the posters of Santosh, Dhadak 2 and Phule, three movies that are facing delays in their release, since the film focuses on the casteism in India.
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Penning a heartfelt note in Hindi, quoted by Hindustan Times, “Is there no caste system in society? Hasn’t it been there forever? Why do we lie to ourselves? And then why should the movies lie? After all, what the Election Commission allows in speeches and what the CBFC allows in cinema can not be different. Both talk to society.”
The 59-year-old filmmaker went on to add how the youth that will be building and shaping their future, show watch the three films, to be aware of their country’s past. They might agree with it or disagree with it, “that is different”. He mentioned, “The intelligent youth of the country would not find that these films are creating a divide but are recognising the need for society to unite.”
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“Uncomfortable conversations are the most important. Issues from before 1947 still exist. Even the ones that came up after that. We will move forward only after completing incomplete dialogues, otherwise we will be trapped in the past and will not find time for future,” he concluded.
For those who don’t know, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) granted a U certificate to the film on April 7. Quoting a report by the news agency PTI, they had asked the producers to make a few amendments to the movie, including removing terms like ‘Mang’, ‘Mahar’ and ‘Peshwai’ and the dialogue ‘3,000 saal purani ghulami’ to be modified to ‘kai saal purani ghulami’.