The chilling trailer of Mardaani 2 shows a brutal faceless serial rapist on a rampage  in the small educational town of  Kota in Rajasthan. The town has taken deep umbrage to  being named as a rape venue. This is the town where  parents  from all over North India send their children for   coaching  in engineering examinations.

“This is the town of dreams, not  nightmares. This is where we send our children to ensure their future. I was  repulsed when I saw Kota being called out for a savage crime in the trailer of Mardaani 2,” a disturbed and concerned parent of a young boy studying on Kota told me.

Poster of ‘Mardaani 2’

Yash Raj, always known for a deep level of sensitivity towards its audiences’ sentiments  has now decided to omit the  name of  the town of Kota from the  film. Gopi Puthran, writer-director of Mardaani 2, says, “We are, in no way, suggesting that such events or incidents happen in Kota and there was no intention to tarnish the reputation of the city. If this has hurt or upset the sentiments of residents of the city, we are deeply regretful. We realise that since the trailer says it’s ‘Inspired By True Events’ and our film is based in Kota, it could be open to miscommunication. YRF has decided that we will remove the words ‘Inspired By True Events’ from the film to ensure that there is no further room for misinterpretation for anyone. We shot Mardaani 2 extensively in Kota and we only received love and warmth and huge cooperation from the people and all the authorities of the city. This gesture is YRF’s mark of respect to Kota and it’s wonderful people.”

A still from ‘Mardaani 2’

Puthan says he comes from a place of immense concern regarding a barbaric crime. “Mardaani 2 addresses a huge societal issue of rape and the rise of horrific crimes committed by juveniles in India. One is deeply moved when such shocking incidents happen and as a writer I wanted to voice this issue and bring to light a terrible reality that today’s India and its youth faces. I was troubled by many, many incidents that took place across our country in the last four years and the complex nature of those crimes left me shocked and perplexed. As a human being, I felt fear after reading about these incidents because it could happen to my family or people that I know and I wanted to do my bit to make as many people aware of the threat posed by nameless, faceless, young and underage boys who are resorting to such violence. Mardaani 2 has been inspired by all such incidents that rocked the country and left us all scarred. Despite all the inspirations, Mardaani 2 at the end of the day is a film and not a documentary and it should be seen as that. Kota has been used by us as the setting for this film only.”