Ravi Jadhav couldn’t have hoped for a better treatment from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), as his controversial Marathi film Nude has been passed with an A certificate, and no cuts.
Ravi tries to hide his surprise and delight. “The board had set up a four-member panel earlier. They recommended several cuts, which I didn’t accept. The regional officer of the CBFC did a very sensible thing. He set my film aside, and brought it up again under the tenure of new chairperson Prasoon Joshi. They viewed the film, gave it a standing ovation, and passed it uncut. After what I’ve gone through (Nude was denied screening at IFFI in November 2017) this was quite a refreshing change from what was expected,” he says.
He’s also all-praises for Vidya Balan, who headed the panel. “Not just her, but all panel members had tears in their eyes, and gave my film a standing ovation. Vidyaji had so many questions about the film, the theme, cinematography the leading lady Kalyani Mule. She wanted to know where Kalyani came from and what else had she played. Ms Balan has a very high level of aesthetics and curiosity to explore creativity. She’s definitely qualified to evaluate films for the board,” he says.
He also reserves some praise for Prasoon, and adds, “He has definitely brought a change in the CBFC. Films are being viewed in the right perspective. I doubt my film would have gone uncut during the earlier regime.”
Now, Ravi is looking at a March release for Nude. He’s also not apprehensive about connotations the title could have. “The word has been used in context of nude art since 1856. Why should we shy away from the word? It’s about time we stopped cringing at the mention of nudity,” he asserts.
Next, Ravi is getting busy with his biopic on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. “Riteish Deshmukh is not only playing Shivaji, he’s also producing the film. He’s a good actor and a good producer; more importantly, he’s also a good human being,” smiles Ravi.
