Student files plea in Madras HC to quash censor certificate for Tamil movie ‘Amaran’

Chennai (The Uttam Hindu): An engineering student from Chennai, V.V. Vaageesan, has filed a writ petition in the Madras High Court seeking to quash the Censor Board certificate issued to the Tamil movie ‘Amaran’. The petitioner approached the court after his personal mobile phone number was displayed in one of the scenes in the movie, leading to immense difficulties.

According to Vaageesan, he began receiving a barrage of phone calls after the movie was released in theaters on October 31, 2024. The callers reportedly assumed that the number belonged either to actor Sai Pallavi, who played the female lead in the movie, or to Indhu Rebecca Varghese, the character portrayed by her. Vaageesan had earlier issued a legal notice to the production firm, Raajkamal Films International, owned by superstar Kamal Haasan. The firm subsequently apologised for the inadvertent mistake and masked the phone number before releasing the movie on Netflix on December 5, 2024. Despite this, Vaageesan filed the writ petition, seeking an interim injunction to prevent the release of the movie on OTT platforms until the case is resolved. Additionally, the petitioner has sought compensation of Rs 1.1 crore from the movie’s producer and director.

He also requested the court to direct Bharti Airtel Limited to produce the incoming call records for his phone number from October 31, 2024. ‘Amaran’, a biopic of late Army officer, Major Mukund Varadarajan, includes scenes depicting the love story between Major Mukund and his wife, Indhu Rebecca Varghese. In one such scene, the female lead, played by Sai Pallavi, shares a 10-digit phone number with the protagonist, which, as it turns out, matches Vaageesan’s personal number. The writ petition is expected to be listed for hearing before Justice S. Sounthar on Friday, December 6, 2024.