Release of 'Phule' Postponed After CBFC Asks Makers to Remove Caste-Based Terms, Reference to Manu

New Delhi: The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has asked the makers of the film Phule to remove several caste-based terms, after objection from Brahmin outfits, resulting in the postponing of its release.

Phule is a biopic on the lives of Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule was supposed to release on Thursday (April 11), which is also the birth anniversary of Jyotiba Phule and is celebrated as Phule Jayanti across the country. However, owing to the controversy, the film’s release has been rescheduled to April 21, reported New Indian Express.

The directive of CBFC includes removing terms such as “Mahar”, “Mang”, “Peshvai”, and “Manu’s system of caste”, with the censor board terming them as “sensitive.”

The CBFC ordered the cuts after the Brahmin Federation, led by its president Anand Dave, alleged that the film “promotes casteism” and portrays Brahmins in a “negative light.”

Dave said that while the film highlights caste-based discrimination, it ignores the contributions of Brahmins who supported Mahatma Phule’s reform efforts.

The NCP (SP) which is part of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi has slammed the CBFC’s decision to order removal of the scenes from Phule.

“History cannot be erased, it can only be learned from. Whatever is shown in the movie Mahatma Jyotirao Phule is a historical truth—truth cannot be denied or altered. Among the social reformers of this country, the names of Mahatma Phule and Savitribai Phule stand at the forefront. What is true must be shown,” said NCP (SP) leader Jitendra Awhad.

Filmmaker Ananth Mahadevan, who is the director of the Pratik Gandhi and Patralekha-starrer film said that Phule was made after extensive research, and drawing its content from multiple books and historical sources.

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