''We have had several films on the caste system but they are all in different decades, when sensibilities were mature enough to comprehend.'
'Today, we are in a different zone of thought.'
Director Ananth Mahadevan's Phule, based on the life and work of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, was supposed to release on his birth anniversary on April 11. It has been pushed to April 25 after some Brahmin organisations in Maharashtra objected to the community's portrayal in the film.
It's almost as if Phule has to fight the system all over again.
"I do not make films anticipating any backlash. I was making a film on the most fearless couple of India," Ananth Mahadevan tells Subhash K Jha.
Ironically, your film is being excoriated for referring to the caste system during a time when we are celebrating Dr Ambedkar's birth anniversary.
Yes. Babasaheb Ambedkar drew inspiration from Jyotiba's doctrine and even considered the couple his gurus.
In fact, it was Savitri who coined the word 'Dalit' to replace 'shudra'.
Yes, it's a strange irony that these are coming at the same time.
Did you expect this backlash?
I do not make films anticipating any backlash.
I was making a film on the most fearless couple of India.
How could I harbour doubts about any reactions? That would be doing them injustice.
Why is the film stuck with the Censor Board?
It is not. We got a U certificate after we submitted the amendments suggested by them. Direct references to caste names probably weren't suitable so they were softened.
We have had some notable films on the caste system, from Bimal Roy's Sujata to Neeraj Ghaywan's Masaan. Where does Phule fit in?
Yes, we have had several films but they are all in different decades, when sensibilities were mature enough to comprehend.
Today, we are in a different zone of thought. Too sensitive perhaps.
So reactive forces are louder.
Uncannily, that is the line in our trailer: 'We are an emotionally charged people and need to guard against losing our understanding.'
Should censorship be abolished?
Certification of cinema is not restricted to our country.
A censor board in the UK and one in China looks at a film differently.
Eventually, they are all people, and opinions are personal.
It is up to the creative persons to choose self-censorship so that we don't cross boundaries of creative freedom.
Where would you place Phule in your repertoire?
Phule is probably my most challenging film project so far.
It required reams of research, careful analysis and execution.
It is about history that has lived for more than a hundred years and is as relevant now as it was then.
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