Chennai: The makers of Tamil film Kutrapathrikai (Charge sheet), which has late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination and Sri Lankan civil war as its backdrop, have won a major battle with the censors.
In a landmark judgement, the Madras High Court has dismissed a petition filed on behalf of the Central Board of Censors against an earlier verdict by the court, allowing the screening of the film with an 'A' certificate after certain cuts.
The film's director, RK Selvamani hailed the judgement as a successful "end to a struggle of 13 years". According to Selvamani, the film will be released as soon as the certificate is issued.
The court has directed the board to award the 'A' certificate within four weeks. The petition had alleged that the film supported the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Sections of the Tamil Nadu Congress had also taken exception to some scenes in the film.
Chief Justice of Madras High Court AP Shah and Justice K Chandru viewed the film and found nothing objectionable in it.
According to Selvamani the court has actually said there is no need to delete the portions, which the earlier verdict wanted to be cut.
The scenes, which the censors wanted to cut, included Tigers' training and police officers fleeing the venue, where Gandhi was assassinated.
This is the second Tamil film, dealing with the Sri Lankan civil war, to win a battle against the censors.
Katrukku Enna Vaeli was the first film of the same theme, directed by Pugazhendhi Thangaraj and featuring Khushboo, which was released in November 2001 after an 18-month struggle with the censors. The release of Katrukku Enna Vaeli came after a Madras High Court verdict.
The next year witnessed the release of another Tamil film titled Kannathil Mutthamittal which also had a Sri Lankan theme. It featured R Madhavan, Simran and Nandita Das and won a National Award for director Mani Ratnam.
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