Kochi: The Malayalam film industry is uniting in protest against the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for withholding certification for the film Janaki Vs State of Kerala (JSK), starring Suresh Gopi. Film personalities from various industry organizations will stage a dharna on Monday in front of the CBFC office in Thiruvananthapuram.
The controversy stems from the CBFC Revising Committee’s verbal directive to the filmmakers, asking them to change the name of the titular character “Janaki”, citing that “Janaki” is another name for Goddess Sita. This move has sparked outrage in the film community, who see it as arbitrary and unjustified.
B. Unnikrishnan, General Secretary of the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA), condemned the CBFC’s action. Speaking to the media on Friday, he questioned why such a request was made after the film had already received a U/A certification from the regional panel. The movie was later forwarded to the Mumbai CBFC office, where the name change directive reportedly originated.
“We are unable to understand the reasoning behind this decision. The trailer and teaser — cleared by the board — have been screened in theatres for a month now. Has there been any communal unrest because of it?” Unnikrishnan asked.
This isn’t the first time the board has raised objections over character names. Director M.B. Padmakumar’s earlier film Token Number was cleared only after changing the female lead’s name from Janaki to Jayanthi.
Janaki Vs State of Kerala director Pravin Narayanan confirmed in a Facebook post that the Revising Committee had indeed asked for the title character’s name to be changed in order to grant certification.
Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court, which is hearing a petition filed by the film’s makers regarding the delay in certification, has directed the CBFC to submit its official response to the court by Friday.
The incident has triggered a wider debate about creative freedom and censorship, with members of the film fraternity calling for transparency and consistency in CBFC’s certification process.
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