Coimbatore: The director of a film on the 1997 Coimbatore riots is planning to move the Madras high court after the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) refused to certify it. The Chennai city police have denied permission to screen the film on Sunday, said Aravind, director of ‘Thelivuppathayin Neesa Thooram’ (TNT).The film examines the events that led to the serial bomb blasts in 1998, the Coimbatore-based director said. “I met the riot victims, bomb blast victims, doctors who treated them and lawyers. Apart from referring three books on the riots and the blasts, I also collected all news reports from November 1997 to February 1998. I reviewed the FIR, charge sheet and commission reports. It took more than one-and-a-half year to collect the materials,” he told TOI.In November 1997, Coimbatore city had witnessed communal riots that led to the serial bomb blasts, which claimed 58 lives and injured more than 200 people. “It took me three years to complete TNT. It is a crowd-funded independent film. It has been shot in spy camera point-of- view,” the director said.The film was completed recently and was sent to the CBFC in October 2018. “The examining committee refused to certify it. We approached the revising committee, which also refused to screen the film. Both the committees claimed that the film would again trigger riots in Coimbatore,” Aravind said.“The film will reveal the reasons behind the bomb blasts and will touch upon the society generalizing all Muslims as terrorists. Most of the films portray the members of the community as terrorists. CBFC finds no problem with such films. My film reveals the truth behind the blasts. I was planning to screen it in Chennai on Sunday. But the Chennai city police approached me and warned against screening it without CBFC certification. They threatened to take action against me.”The director of Madhubana Kadai, Kamalakannan and veteran actress Rohini portray major roles in TNT. A teaser was released last year.“I will approach the HC on Monday, seeking to screen the film across the state and order the CBFC to issue certification,” Aravind added.

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