Indian director Venkatesh's film 'Neelam' on Lankan civil war denied certification

Director G. Venkatesh's film 'Neelam' based on the rise of the rebel LTTE group and on Sri Lanka's civil war which wrapped up filming has been denied India's CBFC certification for its trailer, and likely to be banned, Indian media reported.

Director Venkatesh told , the Deccan Chronicle, “I’m disappointed! I had to hold the shooting mid-way, as I started receiving threats. It is with great difficulty, I had wrapped up the shoot. To know that even the trailer doesn’t pass certification is tragic. The officials felt like the film might affect the relationship between Sri Lanka and India. The officials have sent a notice to the head office at Mumbai and the movie is likely to get banned as well.”

“As a creator I have only shown how the genocide happened. I do not support the LTTE nor Prabhakaran. In fact, even the CBFC members loved the movie, but as government officials, they are not in a position to certify the movie. If I do not get a proper reply from the Mumbai head office, I will have to deal with this matter in court,” the director said.