'If he had been a Maratha': Prakash Ambedkar calls out MVA for not protesting postponement of 'Phule'

Mumbai: The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has asked the makers of ‘Phule’ to remove several caste-based terms which has snowballed into a political issue in Maharashtra and caused delay in the release of the much-awaited film.

Prakash Ambedkar, the grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar slammed the Censor Board for their comments on the film

’Mahatma’ Jyotiba Phule and ‘Krantijyoti’ Savatribai Phule are credited with starting the first women’s school in India, launch of the Satyashodhak Samaj, widow remarriage and stirring up the anti-caste movement.

The film, directed by Ananth Mahadevan starring Pratik Gandhi and Patralekha in the lead roles, was initially scheduled to release on 11 April, 2025, to mark Mahatma Phule’s birth anniversary.

However, following the controversy, the release has been rescheduled to 21 April.

The Censor Board has suggested cuts after the Brahmin Federation President Anand Dave, alleged that the film “promotes casteism” and portrays the Brahmin community in a “negative light.”

Slamming the RSS-BJP, Gandhi said: “On one hand, BJP-RSS leaders pay superficial tribute to Phule ji, and on the other hand, they are censoring the film made on his life! Mahatma Phule and Savitribai Phule devoted their entire lives to the fight against casteism, but the government does not want to bring that struggle and its historical facts on screen.”

According to him, at every step, the BJP-RSS wants to erase Dalit-Bahujan history so that the real truth of caste discrimination and injustice does not come to the fore.

Ambedkar undertook a massive protest at Phule Wada in Pune on Friday - coinciding with the birth anniversary of Mahatma Phule.

Ambedkar slammed the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi.

"A Delhi-based print journalist called me to ask why the Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) and NCP (Sharad Pawar) are silent on the insult to Mahatma Phule and Savitribai. He said, "Why are all these people not protesting like the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi?” To his very legitimate question, I replied - "Because Mahatma Phule was an OBC. If he had been a Maratha, the Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) and Nationalists (Sharad Pawar) would have been out on the streets. Jothiba Phule and Savitribai belonged to the Mali caste and that is why the Maha Vikas Aghadi is not protesting against his insult!”

“India’s censor board did not object to a single scene from propaganda movies like The Kashmir Files or The Kerala Story. But it was quick to make objections to films like the Phule biopic. It shows the mentality of the board,” said Jayant Patil, the Maharashtra unit chief of Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP).

BJP MP Udayanraje Bhosale, a member of the Satara royal family and 13th descendent of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, on Friday claimed that Pratapsinh Bhosale had started the first school for women in India and Mahatma Phule and Savatribai Phule emulated it.

“If you examine it closely, Mahatma Phule embodied the ideals of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, particularly in promoting communal harmony and social equality.

"He was a forward-thinker and economist who dedicated his entire wealth to the upliftment of society…Thorale (senior) Pratapsinh Bhosale had set up a women’s school within his palace in Satara, long before Mahatma Phule’s widely acknowledged initiative…from one viewpoint, Mahatma Phule emulated Pratapsinh Bhosale in promoting education for women,” Udayanraje said.

Countering Maharashtra Congress President Harshavardhan Sapkal took serious objections to the statements of Udayanraje. “The statement is mischievous and misleading. It is unfortunate that attempts are being made to rewrite history. The contributions of Jyotiba and Savitribai Phule to the cause of women’s education are monumental and well-recorded. It was Jyotiba Phule who even rediscovered Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s samadhi at Raigad Fort, at a time when it was deliberately being concealed,” Sapkal said.