08-05-2025
DSS criticises censor board over cuts suggested for Phule film
The Dalit Sangharsh Samiti (DSS) State committee has criticised the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for asking the makers of the recently released Phule film to remove several scenes following an objection from the Brahmin Federation.
DSS State convener Arjun Bhadre, addressing a press conference in Kalaburagi on Wednesday, said that earlier, the film was scheduled to release on April 11 to mark the birth anniversary of Jyotiba Phule. As the CBFC suggested cuts, the film release date was rescheduled to April 25.
Mr. Bhadre said that the biopic on social reformer Mahatma Jyotirao Phule was made after carrying out extensive research and referring multiple books and historical sources.
He said that the film director wanted to show the historical truth. But the Central Film Certification Board instructed him to replace 12 scenes, including the shots in which a man carries a broom and boys throwing cow dung on Savitri Bai.
Several lines of dialogues mentioning the words Kshudra, Peshwa, Mang, Mahar have also been removed from the film, he added.
Mr. Bhadre said that the censor board did not object to a single scene or dialogues from the film, The Kashmir Files. But it has raised objections to real incidents shown in the film Phule. This shows the double standards of the board, he claimed.
