Parasakthi was granted a UA certificate with 25 cuts and modifications hours before its scheduled date.
Sudha Kongara-directorial underwent 25 modifications, including removal of visuals, and replacement and muting of phrases and dialogues.
Sivakarthikeyan said it was a delayed process.
Parasakthi, headlined by Sivakarthikeyan, was cleared with a U/A certificate by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) hours before its scheduled date. However, Sudha Kongara-directorial underwent 25 modifications before it received clearance. Several visuals were removed, and multiple phrases and dialogues were either replaced or muted.
In an interview with India Today, Sivakarthikeyan opened up about the censor approval.
Sivakarthikeyan on Parasakthi censorship
Speaking about the long wait for the censor certificate, he said, "The Censor Board operates according to their own regulations and criteria. Our team's complete focus was on how we could implement the changes they suggested in a way that wouldn't affect the creativity of the film. We didn't have time to figure out why they suggested these changes."
Was the delay in certificate disadvantage to the film?
The actor said that they received the changes at the last minute, following which they had to make the suggested changes and upload them to QUBE. Their main focus was to release the film. "The Censor Board functions according to their own regulations, and we didn't have time to analyse whether it was an advantage or disadvantage," he said.
Sivakarthikeyan agreed it was a delayed process and shared, "Our entire team functioned like a military camp. We had everyone on standby for 24 hours because it was quite challenging to implement these changes. The more advanced technology has become, the more difficult it has become in certain ways."
Did the cuts suppress the freedom of expression?
The Amaran actor said that if they had more time, they might have explained to the board the "context of certain dialogues" that they had asked them to mute. "We were running after a release date, so we ensured that the core of the story remained unaffected while implementing the cuts," he added.
"Thankfully, the cuts weren't too random; the team was able to match them somehow, ensuring they didn't spoil the experience and deliver the final cut within the 10 hours we had," he said further.
Based on the anti-Hindi protests and the student revolution in 1960s Madras, the socio-political drama also stars Ravi Mohan, Atharvaa, and Sreeleela in significant roles.
