John Abraham in a still from Madras cafe
New Delhi:
There's uncertainty over the release of the Tamil version of actor John Abraham's film Madras Cafe, scheduled to release this Friday. Today, the Film Certification Board told the Madras High Court that it is yet to issue clearance to the Tamil version of the film.
Hearing a petition that sought a stay on the movie's release, the High Court judges said the film can't be released without clearance by the certification body.
However there's no bar on the release of the film's Hindi version.
The petitioner Mr Stalin Baskaran said they feared a law and problem if the movie is released in Tamil Nadu. Pro-Tamil groups who have watched the Hindi version allege that Madras Cafe portrays the LTTE (Liberation Tigers Of Tamil Eelam) as a terror group.
Mr R K Selvamani, a popular film director said, "The film shows the LTTE as a terror group and there is not a single frame showing the atrocities of the Lankan army".
Madras Cafe deals with relations between India and Sri Lanka in the late '80s and early '90s.
Yesterday, actor and producer John Abraham, who plays a RAW agent in the film, said "As of now any objection is based on speculation as no one has seen the film; yes, once they watch it they will have a certain point of view after that, and then we can have a discussion. But before watching it and to hold a gun to our head to decide what is right or wrong is not a fair situation in a democratic set up for a filmmaker".
The film also stars actress Nargis Fakhri as a British war correspondent in Sri Lanka.
Hearing a petition that sought a stay on the movie's release, the High Court judges said the film can't be released without clearance by the certification body.
However there's no bar on the release of the film's Hindi version.
The petitioner Mr Stalin Baskaran said they feared a law and problem if the movie is released in Tamil Nadu. Pro-Tamil groups who have watched the Hindi version allege that Madras Cafe portrays the LTTE (Liberation Tigers Of Tamil Eelam) as a terror group.
Mr R K Selvamani, a popular film director said, "The film shows the LTTE as a terror group and there is not a single frame showing the atrocities of the Lankan army".
Madras Cafe deals with relations between India and Sri Lanka in the late '80s and early '90s.
Yesterday, actor and producer John Abraham, who plays a RAW agent in the film, said "As of now any objection is based on speculation as no one has seen the film; yes, once they watch it they will have a certain point of view after that, and then we can have a discussion. But before watching it and to hold a gun to our head to decide what is right or wrong is not a fair situation in a democratic set up for a filmmaker".
The film also stars actress Nargis Fakhri as a British war correspondent in Sri Lanka.
