Kerala HC to watch ‘Janaki vs State of Kerala’ film on Saturday

In a rare move, the Kerala High Court on Wednesday decided to watch the film ‘Janaki vs State of Kerala’, starring Union Minister Suresh Gopi, at 10 am on Saturday before deciding on the production’s plea for certification.

A single bench of Justice N. Nagaresh, while hearing a petition filed by Cosmos Entertainments, Tamil Nadu, the producer of the film, seeking a directive to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to issue a censor certificate, observed, “It is appropriate to view the movie before passing an order,” and directed the petitioner to arrange a screening of the film in an appropriate studio at 10 am on Saturday.

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During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel mentioned that there are practical difficulties in screening the movie in court since it is only available for theatrical release. The petitioner can arrange a studio screening at Lal Media, Palarivattom, in Kochi. The court agreed to view the film at Lal Media. The court stated that the representative of each party, the petitioner and the Board, or their counsel, can be present during the screening.

The CBFC’s Revising Committee has withheld the film’s approval, citing issues with the usage of name ‘Janaki’ to portray a rape survivor. Meanwhile, the production has filed another petition challenging the committee’s decision.

On Wednesday, the Standing Counsel for the CBFC sought time to respond to the allegations raised in the second petition, particularly in regard to some earlier films certified by the body. It was also submitted that in view of the prayer made out in the second writ petition, the first writ petition had become infructuous.

Following this, the petitioner’s counsel submitted that as per the direction of the court, the CBFC had to file a counter-affidavit justifying its decision; however, no such affidavit has yet been filed. The court opined that since the decision of the Revising Committee was not challenged in the first writ petition, both cases will have to be heard together.

The court said it could not grant the Board indefinite time to file its affidavit. The petition will be considered again on July 9.

Last week, the court had asked the CBFC to submit the written decision of its Revising Committee, which had not yet formally explained its stance. According to sources, the committee had verbally directed the filmmakers to change the name of the central character, Janaki, reportedly because it is another name for Goddess Sita.