June 7, 2010 (Sampurn Wire): Agni Sridhar’s directorial debut venture Thamassu, which stars Shiva Rajkumar and Padmapriya in the lead roles, is currently facing difficulties with the Karnataka Censor Board. The board objected to the controversial dialogues about the Hindu-Muslim relationship. The censor board claims that they may lead to communal riots in the state.

Karnataka Censor Board President Nagaraja has issued an “A’ certificate to the movie and also suggested editing out the controversial bits. Meanwhile, Agni Sridhar, who is also a social activist, said to be very disappointed with Censor Board’s decision.

Displeased by the Censor board’s act, the debutant director said that they haven’t used any controversial dialogues or scenes that could hurt the religious sentiments of Hindu and Muslims. Sridhar also expressed his discomfort and wants to approach the Delhi Tribunal for justice.

Nagaraja had sent the trailors of the movie to the Censor Board Chairman, Sharmila Tagore, for her scrutiny. She felt that the movie is sensitive and asked for a special screening along with police personnel. The police officer, present could give his expert opinion and wouldn’t be responsible for clearing the film.

The producers raised questions about the screening with the ADGP, instead of experts in the field. Nagaraja explained that according to the Censor Board’s rules and regulations, the board can approach only certain departments. He also confirms that they need to issue the certificate keeping the public sentiment in mind, as they had to face trouble over movies like Cyanide, Police Story and the recent release Shankar IPS.

The movie is expected to be released on 11th June, 2010.

-Sampurn Wire