Muttrupulliyaa is a Sri Lankan film about four individuals of Tamil descent living in Sri Lanka after the end of the Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009. This is the first film from Sri Lanka to describe this period

Muttrupulliyaa
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySherine Xavier
Screenplay bySheirne Xavier
Produced byThe Social Architects
StarringAnnapoorani, Harris Moosa, Shambhavi Madhan, Iffat Fatima, Ajith, Shalini, Afreen Kabir
CinematographyRavivarman Neelamegam
Edited byB. Lenin
Music bySuren Vikhash, Raanaa Kanthasamy
Production
company
The Social Architects
Running time
105.48
CountrySri Lanka
LanguagesTamil, English and Sinhala
BudgetUS$ 250,000

The story of Muttrupulliyaa is told through a former female Tamil tiger rebel living in Jaffna with her three children and her husband missing after he surrendered to the Sri Lankan army,[1] a historian living in the Vanni; an environmental activist from Colombo and a young journalist from Chennai who travels to Sri Lanka.

The production team had to shoot undercover in Sri Lanka, hiding their real identities because of the risks.. Despite these precautions, some of the film team were arrested or forced into hiding.

Muttrupulliyaa premiered at the Jaffna film festival.[2][3]

Censorship

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Muttrupulliyaa was allowed to be screened in Sri Lanka and was approved by the Public Performance Board of Sri Lanka.

Muttrupulliyaa was banned in India by the censor board as it would damage Indo-Sri Lanka relations. The ban was later lifted by the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal. However, the filmmaker had to morph the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam flags, cut out photographs of its slain leaders and state that the film was a work of fiction inspired by real events.[4][5]

References

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  1. ^ MT Saju (5 March 2017). "Lankan film sheds light on scars of civil war". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  2. ^ "First Indigenous Feature Film On Tamils' Current Plight Premiered At Jaffna". P K Balachandran. New Indian Express. 18 September 2015. Archived from the original on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  3. ^ "First Indigenous Feature Film On Tamils' Current Plight Premiered At Jaffna". Asian Mirror. 19 September 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  4. ^ "Indian censors more worried about Sri Lankan film than Lanka's own!". Avantika Mehta. Hindustan Times. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  5. ^ "Militarisation is a problem in the Tamil areas in Lanka' My film depicts the struggle for dignity by Tamils in Sri Lanka'". Rediff. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
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