The team behind Deewana has expressed disappointment over the film receiving an ‘A’ certificate from the censor board, arguing that the decision significantly reduced its reach among audiences.
Music director Eshwa Chand spoke about the issue at the film’s promotional event and compared Deewana’s certification with some recent high-profile releases.
“There are some big films. I won’t take names, but the public expressed their concerns all over the internet, and those films were certified U/A. Our film was certified A despite receiving no such concerns,” he said.
According to Eshwa Chand, the certification has directly affected the film’s box office potential because family audiences often avoid films carrying an adult rating.
“Even in my own family, only three people were able to watch it in theatres instead of eight,” he added.
He further argued that an ‘A’ certificate automatically creates a perception problem.
“When a film gets an A certificate, forget about taking kids. Even adults become hesitant because they assume there will be some uncomfortable scenes. Our film has no objectionable scenes like some of the recent films. Still, it got an A certificate.”
The music director also spoke about the emotional consequences of such decisions.
“How many people’s dreams get shattered when a good film like Deewana doesn’t reach its full potential at the box office just because of the A certificate?” he asked.
While Eshwa Chand deliberately avoided naming any particular film, social media users quickly started speculating about whom he might have been referring to.
A section of netizens believe the comments could have been aimed at Ram Charan’s Peddi.
The reason is simple. Peddi received a U/A 16+ certificate before release. However, after the film hit theatres, several scenes generated considerable backlash and online debate. The biggest criticism revolved around the portrayal of Janhvi Kapoor’s character and scenes that some viewers felt depicted sexual molestation as romance.
Because of this background, many social media users immediately connected Eshwa Chand’s remarks to Peddi. Their argument is that a film that generated such widespread criticism still managed to secure a U/A certificate, while Deewana, which faced no comparable controversy, ended up with an A rating.
Of course, it is important to note that Eshwa Chand never mentioned Peddi by name. There is no confirmation that he was referring to Ram Charan’s film at all.
