Vishwak Sen calls off Cult pre-release event over Cyclone Arnab; slasher film gets an A certificate ahead of 30 October release

Vishwak Sen has called off the grand pre-release event of his film Cult, which was to be held on Thursday, 29 October, as coastal Andhra Pradesh deals with the damage left by Cyclone Arnab. The actor-director announced the decision in a video message, saying a celebration would not be right while families in the state were suffering.

“In hard times like these, we should stand by the affected families,” he said, and posted the video with the line “Let’s stand with AP”. The film’s release on Friday, 30 October, stays unchanged.

Cult gets an A certificate

The Central Board of Film Certification has given Cult an A certificate, restricting it to adult viewers. The makers pitch Cult as a slasher, a genre Telugu cinema has rarely tried, and its trailer shows 300 people trapped on a fenced island in Goa.

Vishwak Sen directs the film and plays the lead, with Gayatri Bharadwaj, Tarak Ponnappa, Murali Sharma and Srikanth Iyengar in the cast. Ravi Basrur composed the music, and the film is produced by Tarak Cinemas and Vanmaye Creations.