SJ Surya arrested, released on bail
Tamil film actor-director S J Suryah who was responnsible for musically driven box office hits such as "New" and "Ah Ahh - Best Friend" was arrested by city police on Tuesday in connection with a case against him for allegedly throwing a mobile phone at a woman censor board official. Non-bailable warrant issued against S J Suryah. He was later produced before the 14th Metropolitan Magistrate, Govindarajulu, who granted him conditional bail, which included executing a bond for Rs 5,000 with two sureities for like sum. The magistrate also directed him to appear before the police daily and assist the police in the investigation. Yesterday, the magistrate Govindarajulu rejected Suryah's plea to dispense with his appearance in court on the ground that he was busy shooting a film. The magistrate issued the NBW and posted the case for hearing on September 6. According to the complainant Vanathy Srinivasan, the actor threw a mobile phone at her after he was denied permission to add a song to Tamil film New. She lodged a complaint with the city police. On August 5, the Madras High Court had directed the film censor board to revoke its certification for New, directed by Suryah, after expressing deep concern over the vulgarity in it
Sharmila Tagore, chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), will hold discussions with officials of the southern region censor panel in Chennai, in the wake of the recent Madras High Court judgment on the Tamil film, New.
On August 5, the Madras High Court passed an order revoking the certification to the film New. This is the first time that a film is being banned from screening after a successful run.
The court's observation, terming the SJ Surya film as "vulgar", has shaken officials in the censor board, who fear the imbroglio has shown them in poor light.
According to Babu Ramaswamy, CBFC (Chennai region), the panel members who viewed the film New in Chennai, refused to grant it a certification, prompting Surya to take the film to the Mumbai censor board. At that point of time, Bollywood, which was campaigning to do away with censorship per se, granted certification to his film immediately.
It is to avoid such "errors" in future that Sharmila Tagore is holding a consultative meeting with the officials. There is a feeling among a section of the censor officials that since Mumbai granted the certification, those members also need to be represented in the forthcoming meeting.
Meanwhile, the Tamil film industry is not showing any signs of being affected by the turn of events with regard to New. Many new films, which are either blatantly vulgar or violent, continue to pass by the censors.
