Prithviraj Sukumaran stands by the violence shown in 'Animal' and 'Salaar'; here's why it may not be correct

Salaar-Part One: Ceasefire was given an A certificate by the Censor Board and director Prashanth Neel expectedly. The adult certificate came from the violence depicted in the Prabhas and Prithviraj Sukumaran-starrer, and Sandeep Vanga’s Animal walked the same path. In an interview with News18 recently, Sukumaran had something to say about the same.

He said, “I haven’t watched Animal yet and so, I can’t comment on it. But because I’m a filmmaker also, I’m of the opinion that as a filmmaker if you think you need to shoot graphic violence to be able to say the story the way you want to say it, you should have the liberty to do it.”

He added, “Ultimately, after having made the film, you’re submitting it to a regulatory authority called the Censor Board, who is going to tell you that your film is certified so and so, which means only such and such sections of the audience can watch your film. Our responsibility as a filmmaker is to make sure that we submit it to the Censor Board. How we make the film should be left to us.”

Even though the actor and filmmaker did talk about the censor board and freedom of filmmaking, the point still remains as to how the violence is being essayed. In Animal, there were ample doses of grotesque visuals purely for enticement and gratification in all problematic ways. After a point, the film looked more like a response to the criticism that came Kabir Singh’s way four years back. The violence, instead of blending into the narrative, became a tool for Vanga to explode with his fury on people who have issues with his brand of cinema.

Salaar is a film that chronicles the life of a family and choosing kingship over kinship. Everything is fair in love and war, hence the gruesome scenes and gory plot. Sukumaran talks about this and says, “The violence in Salaar is very much a character in the plot and it’s a screenplay instrument to further the drama. Without the violence, Salaar won’t be what it is. And I keep comparing it to Game Of Thrones because Salaar is very much a drama.”

The ‘art is subjective’ argument may not apply to many of the films that choose violence to tell stories of flawed people if they don’t face consequences of their actions. And slamming box-office numbers on people the moment they are slightly critical of what you’ve made is nothing but balderdash. You’ve made what you wanted to, at least be a little restrained on social media. Wait, there’s no censorship there, right?