Vedivazhipadu mired in controversy

Shambhu Purushothaman’s upcoming film Vedivazhipadu has been in the news for a few days now. One of its lead actors, Murali Gopy, has been actively campaigning on social networking sites against the Censor Board’s decision to ‘ban’ the film.
“Reality shows of various hues promote and propagate blatant obscenity, without any benefit or thematic purpose.Reality has no Censor Board. And when it comes to cinema, you cannot even show a man smoking a cigarette in his residential toilet without scribbling a statutory warning on the screen,” the actor wrote on his page.
When contacted, director Shambhu clarified that the film indeed had issues with the Censor Board but hasn’t been banned yet. “The film hasn’t been banned, but the Censor Board has sent it to the revising committee. Most films get passed at the first viewing itself. The board had certain apprehensions that the film would hurt religious sentiments and so referred it to the revising committee. Their meeting will happen in a few days’ time; we can decide on the next course of action only after the meeting,” he says.
Shambhu hasn’t received the exact details as to which part of the film has the issues in question but assures that there is nothing in it which can hurt anyone’s religious sentiments. “Usually there are negotiations over whether the certificate should have a U or A certificate, or on the scenes to be cut. But this issue is not about any particular scene, but on the subject as a whole,” he says.
If the revising committee too decides to ban the film, he will be forced to take action, says the director. “Not issuing a censor certificate is the same as a ban, as far as a filmmaker is concerned. I will take action in the event of such a move,” he says.