Rani Mukerji's Mardaani 2 director Gopi Puthran has clarified that Kota has been used as the setting for the film and that there was no intention to tarnish the reputation of the city. After the film's trailer's release last week, Mardaani 2 landed in trouble as residents of Kota expressed unhappiness at the fact that their city was being shown in bad light. Gopi Puthran, the writer-director said: "Mardaani 2 addresses a huge societal issue of rape and the rise of horrific crimes committed by juveniles in India. One is deeply moved when such shocking incidents happen and as a writer, I wanted to voice this issue and bring to light a terrible reality that today's India and its youth faces."
"I was troubled by many, many incidents that took place across our country in the last four years and the complex nature of those crimes left me shocked and perplexed. As a human being, I felt fear after reading about these incidents because it could happen to my family or people that I know and I wanted to do my bit to make as many people aware of the threat posed by nameless, faceless, young and underage boys who are resorting to such violence," he added.
Mr Puthran said that Mardaani 2 has been inspired by all such incidents that rocked the country and left us all scarred. "Despite all the inspirations, Mardaani 2, at the end of the day, is a film and not a documentary and it should be seen as that," he said, adding: "Kota has been used by us as the setting for this film only. We are, in no way, suggesting that such events or incidents happen in Kota and there was no intention to tarnish the reputation of the city."
The director apologised for hurting the sentiments of the residents of Kota. "If this has hurt or upset the sentiments of residents of the city, we are deeply regretful. We realise that since the trailer says it's 'Inspired By True Events' and our film is based in Kota, it could be open to miscommunication," said Gopi Puthran.
He added that the Yash Raj Films has decided that they will remove the words 'Inspired By True Events' from the film to ensure that there is no further room for misinterpretation for anyone.
"We shot Mardaani 2 extensively in Kota and we only received love and warmth and huge cooperation from the people and all the authorities of the city. This gesture is YRF's mark of respect to Kota and it's wonderful people," said Gopi Puthran.
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