After getting an ‘A’ certification from CBFC, filmmaker Ravi Jadhav plans to release his controversial film Nude in March or April
The last two months have been quite tiring for filmmaker Ravi Jadhav. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting did not allow his Marathi film Nude to be screened at International Film Festival of India (IFFI 2017) in Goa for its content. Later, the film could not make it to Kerala International Film Festival. The film was also stuck with the Censor Board for a couple of months.
Now, Nude has been given an ‘A’ certification by Central Board of Film Certification without any cuts. When Sakal Times got in touch with Ravi to congratulate him on the certification, he said, “I am very happy because in November when a four-member team watched the film, they were in two minds. They weren’t sure whether to give the film any certification at all or give it an ‘A’ certificate with cuts. The film, later made to Prasoon Joshi, the chairperson of the Board and he appointed a fresh committee. When I got to know that Vidya Balan was heading the team, I was hopeful.”
Nude stars Chhaya Kadam, Madan Deodhar and Kalyanne Mulay. The filmmaker says that he is okay with the ‘A’ certificate because of the subject of the film. “When I was a student of JJ School of Arts, we were taught nude portraits after third year and we took it quite seriously,” Ravi said.
It is being reported that after watching the film, Vidya not only clapped but also praised each and every actor in the film. Throwing more light on it, he said, “She was very happy. There were 10 to 15 people present in the room and they all clapped. She was like, ‘There’s no amount of vulgarity in the film, how did you handle it so beautifully? Even though the film is based on a nude model, there is no nudity’. She asked me about the actors. She loved each and every small detail about the film. In fact, she had tears in her eyes because she thought that the film was made sensibly. She was like, ‘The film should reach the audience, and more and more people should watch it’.”
It was an emotional moment for the filmmaker who is known for hits like Natarang, Balgandharva, Balak Palak, Timepass and others. He says that after three months, people have actually praised his film.
Despite the controversies surrounding the film, for the last three months, Ravi has hardly spoken to the media or given his version on what exactly had happened. He says that he did not feel the need to talk about it. “I was positive that things would work out. If sensible people watch the film, they will like it and that’s what happened. I always knew that there was some kind of miscommunication because no one had actually watched the film and nobody had directly spoken to me about it. Sometimes being silent can be impactful but that should only happen if you are confident about your project. I was watching everything that was happening,” he said.
The filmmaker plans to release the film as soon as possible. “I am trying to release the film in March or April. Usually two to three Marathi films get released on a single day so we are looking for a suitable Friday,” he said.
And what was his takeaway from the whole episode? “I have never had any kind of bad experience with CBFC. All my films have been sensitive but prior to this there were no controversies and I hadn’t done any controversial films. This was unfortunate,” he replied.
When the controversy with IFFI happened, filmmaker Sujay Ghosh resigned from his post to support Nude as well as Sanal Sasidharan’s S Durga which was also dropped from IFFI. But there were other filmmakers who went with the decision of I&B Ministry. He says that during difficult times, one gets to know who are your real supporters and who aren’t. “I usually support every Marathi filmmaker and keep presenting films of first-time directors. I will be friends with those who have supported me and for those who haven’t, it will only be ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ (laughs).”
