Galatta Plus Mega Tamil Roundtable 2023 hosted recently by National Award-winning film critic Baradwaj Rangan, the Editor-in-Chief of Galatta Plus, saw notable Tamil filmmaking names come together for a discussion on mainstream and parallel cinema, and more, while drawing in on their own experiences. Among those who took part in the film discussion were eminent filmmakers Mani Ratnam, Vetri Maaran, Sudha Kongara, Madonne Ashwin, and PS Vinothraj, with Mari Selvaraj explaining the difficulties he faced during the censor process for his Karnan (2021) starring two-time National Award-winning actor Dhanush.
Speaking at the Galatta Plus Mega Tamil Roundtable 2023, Mari Selvaraj said, "When Karnan was sent to the Censor Board, they didn't allow me to keep the police station attack scene and told me to remove it. The characters in the scene were carrying only sticks and coconut tree stems. When I pointed out to them that there have been films that featured police stations and the Chief Minister's convoy cars getting destroyed in bomb blasts, they said, 'That isn't a mind changer. Those films don't change a person's state of mind. Similar to video games, the audience will celebrate them.' There was a big fight about this. The reason I'm telling this is to share this with Mani sir and everyone who is here. There were so many disagreements during the censoring of both of my films. My point was that everything in my film was handled truthfully with simplicity and on a certain level. If the character doesn't fight back, we said that it would create an alienation. But, I've faced problems during the censor process with all my films." He added, "When I say problems, they weren't allowing me to include what was previously permitted. A character attacking a policeman and getting a person out from inside the police station is something that has happened and continues to happen. It's moral rage. When there's an opportunity to show a bomb blast and not this, I feel hurt that they have allowed this big violence to be celebrated in theatres when I watch some films. It still cannot be broken. I don't know whether it's wrong."
Explaining that he didn't know how to talk to the Censor Board during the comparison of the fight scenes in other films with the one shot in Karnan, Mari Selvaraj said, "They will handle it just like that. We will not know how to react at the moment. Karnan had not yet been released. But, when the film went to the censors, they had listed 60 complaints and told me that a case had been filed against me. So, for reference, I submitted my ration card and voter ID, my family's ration cards and voter IDs, the ration cards and voter IDs of the people living in my street and my village, and the names and the blood relationship between us, and explained how these folklore names are a metaphor for all the communities and all the people and are common to all. I submitted all the relevant documents because I wanted this name, but they didn't allow it. The name didn't change the story and is an emotional aspect. When they didn't allow me, I was forced to come up with another name." He continued, "When I asked them if they allowed this before and how this would cause problems, the censor officers gave me a reply that they should not. They said, 'You will feel if we tell you. Since you're fighting so much, this name can come in other films and not in a Mari Selvaraj film.' So, when I was writing the script for Maamannan, this occupied my mind completely. Udhayandihi Stalin sir came in and I knew I was going to do a political drama. When I'm writing a script, I'm getting nervous. I shouldn't watch other films because there will be everything in them. They will be celebrated, but the changes and the depression they bring in us, we don't know. But, when we decide that we have to do this story and this film, we will have to keep developing bit by bit. Usually, we show the hero whether the dialogue is okay, and all the other people, and finally the censors, and they will then say something. And, this is where I called something I learned from Vetri Maaran sir - 'The script will keep changing during the shooting.' "
Watch Galatta Plus Mega Tamil Roundtable 2023 below:
