The Kerala High Court on Monday questioned the objections of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to the use of name ‘Janaki’, another name for Hindu goddess Sita, in Suresh Gopi-starrer ‘JSK – Janaki v/s State of Kerala’.
The court observed that the CBFC cannot dictate film titles or storylines to directors and artists.
A single bench of Justice N Nagaresh, while hearing a petition from Cosmos Entertainments, the producer of the film “JSK – Janaki vs State of Kerala,” starring Union Minister Suresh Gopi, questioned the rationale behind the CBFC’s objection to the title and character name ‘Janaki’.
“What is wrong with the title or the name of the character ‘Janaki’? That is the freedom of artists. You (CBFC) cannot interfere in that. The freedom not absolute, but the Board must have a convincing reason to show how the name ‘Janaki’ is contemptuous of racial, religious, or other groups,” said the court.
Noting that the protagonist, named Janaki, is a victim of sexual assault seeking justice in court of law, Justice Nagaresh orally observed, “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.”
Earlier, the judge had asked the Central film certification body why the movie can’t use the name Janaki when in the past, there have been films like ‘Seeta Aur Geeta’ and ‘Ram Lakhan’, that are named after Gods.
During the hearing on Monday, Deputy Solicitor General appearing for CBFC ,submitted that the current title of the film violates Guidelines 2(xii) and 6 of the Guidelines issued by the Central Government pursuant to Section 5B(2) of the Cinematograph Act, 1952. She informed the court that the name ‘Janaki’ is another name for the Hindu goddess Sita, and using such a name could hurt religious sentiments.
In response, Justice N Nagaresh clearly expressed that he could not understand the reason behind the objection.
The petition sought a directive to the CBFC to issue a censor certificate for the film. The court directed the CBFC to clarify its objections to the film’s title, “Janaki,” and emphasised that the case cannot be indefinitely adjourned. The hearing has been scheduled for July 2.