Director Ananth Narayan Mahadevan clarified that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) suggested amendments, not cuts, for Phule. “They had suggested some amendments, I wouldn’t call it cuts. I want to clarify that there are no cuts as such,” he told PTI. He also added that the film’s release was delayed due to protests from the Brahmin community, not the CBFC’s suggestions.

Ananth also addressed the controversy: “The Brahmins got carried away by a two-minute trailer,” stressing there was nothing objectionable in the film. He explained that the protests led the producers to push the release date to April 25 to clear the air. “We did not want to lose out on the audience... Let’s postpone it for two more weeks and clear all the controversies.”

The biopic, starring Pratik Gandhi as Jyotirao Phule and Patralekhaa as Savitribai Phule (anti-caste social reformers), was initially set to release this Friday. The CBFC had issued a ‘U’ certificate on April 7, with minor changes, including removing certain terms and altering visuals. After the trailer’s release on April 10, the Brahmin community raised objections, claiming a poor portrayal, with Maharashtra’s Hindu Mahasangh president Anand Dave expressing his displeasure.