Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; October 10, 2017)

The ending of Bejoy Nambiar’s new release Solo, starring Dulquer Salmaan, was changed by producer Abraham Mathew. He did so without informing Nambiar. The Malayalam version of the bilingual (Tamil) has been produced by Mathew. Theatres in Kerala are playing the chopped version.

Nambiar, who last directed the Amitabh Bachchan-Farhan Akhtar starrer Wazir, was shocked when he learnt about it. He took to social media on Sunday to explain to viewers. He wrote, “For all those asking about the changed ending. It has been done without my knowledge and consent. Good or bad, I stand by the film I made.”

What Abraham found of concern were some scenes featuring Dulquer Salmaan and Neha Sharma that hinted at incest. When hitlist asked about the self- ensorship, Mathew said, “I am socially committed. I felt some scenes were not appropriate for certain sections of the audience in Kerala, so I decided to delete it. It is just a bit and does not affect the film’s flow.”

Nambiar told hitlist, “Where was his social commitment when he decided to finance the film?” The director is now trying to release the unedited version in Kerala.

Solo consists of four different stories. Each tale refers to an element of nature — air, water, fire and earth.

The Tamil version of Solo had just a single-day run in Tamil Nadu, due to the ongoing strike by multiplex owners over the imposition of entertainment tax.