COIMBATORE: Tamil Nadu BJP chief Nainar Nagenthran on Saturday lashed out at Chief Minister M K Stalin for his “Censor Board a new weapon of BJP government” remark and sought to know if he is aware that 'Parasakthi' film has been granted a certificate ahead of its release on January 10.
The Central Board of Film Certification followed its rules in certifying films and when it has cleared the 'Parasakthi' film, why should the Chief Minister link the certification issues for actor Vijay starrer 'Jana Nayagan' with the Central government, he asked.
“Does he (Stalin) not know that the same censor board has cleared Parasakthi. Whose film is it? How did it get the certification? The CBFC has rules which it follows,” Nagenthran told reporters here when his attention was drawn to the Chief Minister’s post on ‘X’ on Friday, accusing the BJP government at the Centre of employing the censor board as “a new weapon.”
Without mentioning Vijay’s film, which has been caught in a row, the Chief Minister said on the social media platform 'X' “CBI, ED, IT, Censor Board has also become a new weapon of the BJP government. Strong condemnations.”
Sudha Kongara and Sivakarthikeyan’s film Parasakthi has been granted U/A 16+ certificate by the CBFC. Reacting to it, the film’s official production house, Dawn Pictures, said on ‘X’, “A fire that speaks to all ages #Parasakthi censored with a U/A - striking theatres worldwide.”
Actor-politician Vijay’s final film Jana Nayagan directed by H Vinoth, couldn’t be released on January 9, as originally scheduled due to some unexpected legal complications and censor board trouble.
Following the controversy around the film’s certification, its producer Venkat K Narayana (KVN Productions) said, “This has been an extremely emotional and difficult moment for everyone who has poured their heart, soul and years of hard work into this film. Above all, we firmly believe that Thalapathy Vijay sir deserves the farewell he has earned through decades of love from his fans.”
On the legal proceedings, he said in a video message that following the hearing on January 6 and 7, the court directed a U/A 16+ certificate to be issued. However, the CBFC immediately challenged this decision and the order to issue the certification was stayed, with an interim stay having been granted. He apologised to all for the delay.
When asked why so many hurdles were posed for 'Jana Nayagan', Nagenthran replied, “The censor board followed rules.”