The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Film runs into trouble with Censor Board

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Saturday, Mar 10, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Film runs into trouble with Censor Board

S.R.Ashok Kumar

Shirly Das

CHENNAI: Cinematographer-turned-director Velu Prabhakaran is not apologetic about his film `Kadhal Arangam' having run into problems with the Censor Board.

Rejecting criticism of "too much of exposure by the heroine", Shirly Das, Mr. Prabhakaran says the story itself is about how society views a woman's body. "I have approached the Central Board of Film Certification, which has refused a certificate for the film. Both the examining and the revising committee were apparently not able to see the true message of my film. I do not know why... " he says.

"People today are openly talking about the spread of AIDS ... A few years ago no one would have talked about condom use to prevent AIDS, that too among students. My film is about the problem of sexual abuse... Why then is the Censor Board now allowing the movie?" he questions. The message of the film is to spread sex education. "My film conveys this in a unique manner."

He says his conviction was strengthened by a recent survey that showed that a majority of crimes were sexually motivated.

"In other countries, people do not gape at a bikini-clad woman in a swimming pool. Even here the Censor Board allows nudity in foreign movies or vulgar dialogues in recent movies. "But when I make a movie with a message, it is cut ruthlessly. We need a change in attitude ... " Mr. Prabhakaran says.

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