Satyameva Jayate: John Abraham’s revised cut of ‘Matam’ in Muharram sequence approved by Shia community 

A self-flagellation scene from Satyameva Jayate featuring John Abraham was opposed by the members of the Shia community. The Telangana State Bharatiya Janata Party had protested against the makers of the film for wrongly depicting Matam (self-flagellation) and denigrating its rituals. However, a revised cut has now received their approval.

Taking into account the reservations expressed by the community last month, the makers revisited the scene and showed it to selected members recently. Producer Nikkhil Advani says, “We pride ourselves on being responsible filmmakers. So, we decided to connect with representatives of the community after we received complaints about the concerned scene. A few leaders came together to watch the amended sequence, and have approved of it.”

The members objected to the whip used by Abraham to conduct self-flagellation, following which he is seen using it in an action sequence. Displeasure was also expressed about the fact that, during a fight scene, Abraham’s opponent is seen falling over a handi, a vessel considered sacred by the community, given that they cook devotional offerings in it. Producer says, “We weren’t aware of these details, and so, decided to remove that sequence to eliminate any room for objection”.

The new version also includes eliminations that the Censor Board had demanded. Nikkhil says,” They had requested for certain portions to be edited. We collated both the changes and showed the final cut to the leaders. They are happy to see that we paid heed to them, and involved their inputs in the edit that the audience will watch.” On his part, Advani is happy that the revision will not steal from the narrative. “It won’t make a big difference to the film. We can’t be naive and hurt people’s sentiments. It was on us to resolve the issue, and we were happy to do so.” Satyameva Jayate directed by Milap Milan Zaveri is produced by T-Series and Emmay Entertainment. The film is slated to release on August 15, 2018.