On Tuesday, The Tamil Film Active Producers Association (TFAPA) filed a petition in the Madras High Court for the central government to ban film reviews for the first three days, since theatrical release. These included reviews on social media such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and X. Now, the court has refused the petition.
The legal body’s decision hinges on the right to the freedom of speech and expression. A ban on sharing film reviews would curtail reviewers’ rights to share their opinions on a cinematic work. Justice S. Sounthar, while hearing the petition filed by TFAPA, questioned the feasibility of such a restriction. He stated that “Reviewers are entitled to review any film; it is their opinion.”
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Meanwhile, Advocate Vijayan Subramanian, representing TFAPA, argued that certain individuals, under the guise of film reviews, defame stakeholders of the film industry. These include directors, actors, and producers. He argued that the reviews cause damage to their reputations.
The petition highlighted the lack of regulation and self-discipline on social media platforms. This leads to defamatory remarks and coordinated efforts to manipulate film ratings, known as “review bombing.” TFAPA claimed that these actions often find motivation from personal or business rivalries. They negatively influence public opinion and harm box-office collections before the audience can form its own judgment.
As per a report by The Hindu, the petitioner association had also sought direction from the Central and State governments to frame guidelines. They believe that online film critics should follow these guidelines while reviewing new movies. This should be applicable across reviews be it on YouTube channels, X handles, Facebook pages or other social media platforms.
The plea comes at a time when several big-budget films have been failing at the box office and struggling to recover their budgets. Allegedly, the cause behind the poor performance of films is attributed to the negative reviews that manipulate viewers’ decisions. Suriya’s ‘Kanguva’ was the latest big-budget movie that had to struggle at the box office, due to negative online reviews.
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Following this, a decision came forward to ban film reviews within three days of the release of a movie. This was so that the filmmakers did not end up incurring huge losses. On November 20, the Tamil Nadu Producers Council (TNPC) issued a statement. It asked theatre owners to ban youtubers from recording video reviews inside the theatre premises.
Citing the backlash faced by films like ‘Kanguva,’ ‘Indian 2,’ and ‘Vettaiyan,’ the association stated the misuse of social media platforms. These are used to allegedly promote ‘hate’ against directors and producers under the guise of film reviews.
In the translated letter from Tamil, the association condemned the online reviews. “Our association strongly condemns the recent trend of personal attacks and incitement of violence under the guise of film reviews. While every critic has the right to point out the strengths and weaknesses of a film, they must ensure that the criticism focuses only on the film. We strongly condemn the personal attacks on producers, directors, or actors, and the use of reviews as a platform for hatred and hostility”.
