Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap was all praise for a recent Malayalam release, Mollywood Times. Directed by Abhinav Sunder Nayak and starring Naslen, the film was released in theatres on June 5. Even as the film’s team faces an FIR over the alleged screening of scenes not permitted by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), Anurag showered the film with love.
Anurag Kashyap’s review of Mollywood Times
Anurag posted his review for Mollywood Times on Letterboxd and rated it four stars. His review of the film read: “A post Internet/social media’s cinephile filmmakers wet dream is this film. A lot of truth and a lot of idealism . The articulation of it all from the filmmaker that Abhinav sunder Nayak is only going to get sharper with time. This is how it all is but the wee bit of romanticism of it all is what we wish. Loved the film.”
The FIR on Mollywood Times team
On June 18, news broke that the police had registered a case against the producer, director, distributor, digital cinema content service providers, and theatre owners of Mollywood Times for allegedly exhibiting scenes and dialogues that the CBFC had directed to be removed. Thiruvallam police registered the case based on a complaint filed a day before by the regional officer of the CBFC under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, officials told PTI.
According to the FIR filed on June 17, the CBFC had issued a UA 16+ certificate to the film after directing the makers to delete certain scenes and objectionable dialogues. However, the film was allegedly screened with changes not approved by the censor board, including obscene dialogues inserted through tampering, the FIR said. The case was registered under Section 7(1)(a)(ii) of the Cinematograph Act.
Producer Ashiq Usman appeared before the Thiruvallam police on June 27 after being served a notice. Police sources said everyone else named as an accused in the case would be questioned in the coming days.
About Mollywood Times
Mollywood Times is a psychological dark comedy film directed by Abhinav Sunder Nayak and written by Ramu Sunil. The film stars Naslen as Vineeth Madhavan, an aspiring filmmaker who wants his debut film to be remembered forever but faces several problems along the way. The cast also includes Roshan Shanavas, Sangeeth Prathap and Sharaf U Dheen. The film marked the second instalment of the Success Trilogy, following Mukundan Unni Associates. Mollywood Times began streaming on JioHotstar from July 3.