Thiruvananthapuram: Malayalam film ‘Varthamanam’, set in the backdrop of the student protests in the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi early this year, has been denied permission for screening by the Censor Board of Film Certification’s (CBFC) regional office here.

Directed by noted filmmaker Sidhartha Siva with award-winning actress Parvathy Thiruvoth as the lead, the movie revolves around the journey of a Keralite woman who goes to JNU for research studies.

Aryadan Shoukath, the producer-scriptwriter, said CBFC officials did not give any reason. The movie would be submitted to the revising committee of the censor board in Mumbai this week itself, he added.

“We cannot send the movie for any award this time if we do not get the clearance before December 31,” Shoukath, also a Congress leader, said. He blames politics. “V Sandeep Kumar, a censor board member, recently tweeted permission was denied as Aryadan Shoukath was its script writer and producer. Nowadays censor board has several political appointees who have no knowledge of cinema,” he said.

Kumar, who later removed his tweet, described the film as “anti-national”.