Kochi, June 30 (IANS) The Kerala High Court, for the second time in a week, on Monday questioned the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) over its objection to the use of the name ‘Janaki’ in the film starring Union Minister of State for Tourism Suresh Gopi.
Noting that the protagonist, named Janaki, is a victim of sexual assault seeking justice in court of law, the High Court orally pointed out that “she is not a rapist. If a rapist is named as Rama, Krishna, Janaki, then I can understand. At least we can appreciate that you should not name that character with God’s name. Here, she is a heroine of the film, fighting for the cause of justice”.
Film production company Cosmos Entertainments had, last Wednesday (June 25), approached the Kerala High Court alleging unreasonable delay by the CBFC in granting the censor certificate to Gopi’s film.
The film was to have been released on June 27 but with the CBFC opposing ‘Janaki’ in the title, it’s been held up and on Monday, the Deputy Solicitor General, appearing for the CBFC, submitted that the current title of the film violates guidelines issued by the Central government, pursuant to Section 5B(2) of the Cinematograph Act.
But the court, however, found the argument prima facie unsustainable and orally pointed out that in India, most of the names are attributed to God, whether it is Hindus, Christians, or Muslims.
“80 per cent of names have religious connotations, like Ahammed, Anthony, Kesavan, Krishnan…you (CBFC) cannot dictate to the directors and artistes which name should be given or which story should be told. That is the freedom of an artiste. You cannot interfere with that. It is not absolute, but you do not have a convincing reason to say how this name Janaki will be contemptuous to racial, religious or other groups,” it stated.
While posting the case for Wednesday, the court orally directed the DSG to file a detailed statement so as to give a clear picture as to why the name ‘Janaki’ cannot be used in the film.
In a related development, on Monday, representatives belonging to the various Malayalam film bodies, including the FEFKA, the AMMA, and the ATMA (the body of those in the television industry), staged a protest before the CBFC regional office in the state capital.
Popular director Shaji Kailas, who has directed numerous memorable films, said it’s strange that needless controversies are being created.
“If this is the case with regard to a name, then my name also should be changed. Really fail to gauge what the problem is with the CBFC,” said Kailas.
Renjith, producer of the blockbuster film “Thudarum”, starring superstar Mohanlal and presently running to packed houses, said: “It’s not just those associated with the film industry who should protest, the people at large should join in to protest against this highhandedness.”
Jayan Cherthala, Vice President in the adhoc committee of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes, said if we are going to allow this irrational attitude, then there will be no end to this unnecessary interference.
“No one should forget that the poster and the teaser of this film have been cleared and have been released for a while now. This is in no way acceptable,” said Cherthala.
–IANS
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