Mersal's Telugu version Adirindhi gets censor clearance, 9 November release date
Superstar Vijay's latest film, Mersal, has been in the news ever since its release earlier this month. Widely hyped as it featured the star in a triple role, and reunited him with popular director Atlee, Mersal turned out to be a box-office blockbuster upon release. Quite apart from Vijay's performance and the film's storyline, however, it hit the headlines after the BJP took umbrage at some anti-GST dialogue mentioned by the actor in the film. Soon, Tamil Nadu doctors also protested against Mersal, saying this film painted the medical fraternity in a bad light.
Vijay in a still from Mersal. Image courtesy: Facebook
The row soon took on a political posturing versus freedom of expression hue: on the one hand, the BJP brought in Vijay's religion, and labelled him anti-government; on the other hand, the film industry and Vijay's fans stood up for the superstar and Mersal, saying the movie depicted nothing wrong. The controversy didn't seem to have affected the film much, as it continued to do brisk box office business worldwide.
Amid the controversy, however, the release of the Telugu version of Mersal, titled Adirindhi, was postponed. It was initially believed that the Central Board of Film Certification was responsible for the delay; however, CBFC chief Prasoon Joshi soon clarified that they had not in fact, asked for any cuts before the Telugu version's release. And now, it appears that Adirindhi has received its clearance from the censors.
Recent reports indicated that Mersal's Telugu version has got the all-clear from the CBFC and is now due for a 9 November release date. The producers are apparently releasing over 800 prints of Adirindhi.
Film trade analyst and critic Surendhar MK tweeted revealing the film's release date and posted a picture of the CBFC certificate.
After the blockbuster run in TN, #Thalapathy #Vijay's #Adirindhi is gearing up for Nov 9th release in AP/T. Certified U/A. pic.twitter.com/H1iZecgKZP
— Surendhar MK (@SurendharMK) November 2, 2017
Why the release of Mersal's Telugu version was held back in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana is not clear. Atlee and Vijay have not issued a statement at this point.
