Revealed: The Real Reason Why Mersal In Telugu Was Not Released

While  it is being speculated that the  Censor Board has played the villain in the release of the Telugu  version of  Mersal  it now comes to light that the  film’s producers have themselves elected to  hold back the release in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana .

Says an informed source close to the development, “Athrindhi, the Telugu version of  Mersal was always meant to open after the Tamil version. But when all the controversies and  clamour to ban the  film erupted, the release  of  Athrindhi  was  further held back.”

According the sources the  producers now plan to release more than 800 prints of the Telugu version.

CBFC chairperson Prasoon Joshi clarifies that the CBFC has nothing to do with the delay of the Telugu version. “Why would we cause any delay?The  process of censorship takes time. That process should be respected. Having said that,we must be very clear on this: there are no cuts in the Telugu version. The Tamil and Telugu versions are exactly the same.”

Says the former CBFC chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani, “This is  a typical  illustration of how the  CBFC is used to get publicity for a  film. All the version of  a multi-lingual film are  viewed separately but certified one  after another.So there is no question of  the Telugu version remaining uncertified  for weeks after the release  of the Tamil version.Someone somewhere  is trying to make mileage  out of  the controversies surrounding this  film. If the producers expected  Mersal to make 200 crores they now expect  450  crores. ”