Varthamanam, starring Parvathy Thiruvothu in the lead, will have a theatrical release on March 12 at 300 theatres across the country. The film, which was denied certificate by the regional Censor Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in Kerala was later given the go-ahead by the revising committee of the Central Censor Board.
The movie, directed by Sidhartha Siva, is written by writer and Congress politician Aryadan Shoukath. It deals with the struggles faced by a young Muslim woman from Kerala who lands in a Delhi based campus to research on the freedom fighter Mohammed Abdu Rahiman. The film is set against the current political situation in the country. The story is about how the students belonging to different political parties come together despite their differences to convey secular ideas, Aryadan told TNM earlier.
Sources said that two members of the screening committee of the CBFC in Kerala including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sandeep Kumar had rejected the film as it was critical of right wing politics. A screenshot of a tweet he reportedly posted about the film, calling it 'anti-national', had also done the rounds.
Parvathy plays the young researcher Faiza Sufiya in the film. Roshan Mathew plays a student activist of the Delhi campus. Siddique plays a professor. Dain Davis, Nirmal Palazhi and Sanju Sivram play other important characters in the film.
Varthamanam is produced by Benzy Nassar and Aryadan Shoukath. The cinematography is by Azhagappan and the music by Bijibal.
Parvathy will also be starring in a film with Mammootty. The Malayalam superstar announced the film titled Puzhu on the occasion of Women’s Day. It will be directed by Ratheena Sharshad, who has worked as an executive producer in the Parvathy starrer Uyare. The film is important since Mammootty and Parvathy are acting together for the first time, and there was an earlier controversy concerning the two actors, after the latter’s comment on the former’s film Kasaba was taken out of context.