Omar Lulu’s Nalla Samayam withdrawn from theatres following excise case

A scene from Nalla Samayam

Filmmaker Omar Lulu has withdrawn his latest movie Nalla Samayam from the theatres, three days after its release. The Kozhikode Range of the Excise Department had registered a case against the director and the producer of the movie under Abkari Act and Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act over allegations of the movie and its trailer promoting the use of banned synthetic drugs including MDMA, a day after its release in the theatres.

On Monday, the director announced in a Facebook post that he is withdrawing the movie from the theatres and that the rest of the matters will be decided based on the Court order. Excise department officials had said that there were several complaints against the teaser as it carried dialogues and scenes encouraging substance abuse. After the release of the film on Friday, there were fresh complaints, they said.

The officials had also hinted that they would initiate steps to stop the screening of the movie if the controversial portions are not removed. Following the controversy, the filmmaker had in media interviews claimed that he was being targeted unfairly as films starring some superstars also had scenes depicting drug use, but a case was filed only against his film. He had said that the ‘A’ certificate for the movie from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) indicates that it is meant only for adults.