The scenes of graphic violence in the film have raised concerns about its impact on younger and more vulnerable minds.
Unni Mukundan
Unni Mukundan’s latest blockbuster, Marco, is facing trouble with its OTT release. With the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) becoming more strict with the depiction of violence in cinema, Regional Officer Nadeem Thufali T has written to the CBFC Chairperson to ask for the Union government’s intervention to prevent the film’s streaming on OTT.
This comes after the film had already been denied satellite rights for television screening. “Marco has already been certified ‘A’ by the CBFC. Parents should exercise caution when allowing children to watch such films. The CBFC’s role is limited to certification and does not involve censorship. We have denied satellite rights for Marco as it is not suitable for a family audience,” Thufali told Manorama News.
The scenes of graphic violence in the film have raised concerns about its impact on younger and more vulnerable minds. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also held the same opinion. However, the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) has dismissed these claims as “reflection theory”. They said that films only mirror society rather than shaping it.
Marco is already available to stream on SonyLIV and even proved to be a blockbuster during its theatrical run. The makers of Marco initially announced that the fight sequences omitted from the theatrical release would be included in the film’s OTT version. These action scenes also featured actor Riyaz Khan. However, fans were left disappointed when the team later revealed that the extended cut would not be available on OTT due to multiple complaints. As a result, only the theatrical version was released on SonyLIV.
Acknowledging the fans’ disappointment, the makers recently took to Instagram to announce that they had officially uploaded the deleted action sequences featuring Riyaz Khan on YouTube. The Marco team clarified that the scenes were made available through Cubes Entertainment’s YouTube channel, fulfilling their earlier promise to the audience. They reassured fans that these fight sequences did not contain excessive violence, ensuring compliance with regulatory guidelines.
