‘Cultural chokehold': Mollywood fumes over censorship
On Monday, the who's who of Mollywood — including FEFKA, KFPA and AMMA members — gathered outside the CBFC office in Thiruvananthapuram, venting frustration over a censorship regime they claim is becoming unpredictable, unreasonable and ruinous for creativity. 'This isn't just about Janaki, this is about artistic survival,' thundered Renji Panicker, head of FEFKA's Directors' Union. 'What next? Will filmmakers have to name their characters One, Two, and Three because religious names are off-limits? This is a cultural chokehold.'
The immediate trigger? The CBFC's objection to protagonists called Janaki, a revered name for Ramayana's Sita, in two films, JSK and Token Number. While mythological names in films are nothing new (think Seeta Aur Geeta or Ram Lakhan), filmmakers are now being asked to rewrite, re-dub, and essentially re-construct their films post-production to appease the board's new sensibilities.
The Kerala High Court itself was baffled. 'If Ram Lakhan and Seeta Aur Geeta didn't raise eyebrows, why Janaki?' the court asked while hearing a petition filed by JSK's producer Cosmos Entertainment.
But the damage is done. Director M B Padmakumar was forced to rename his Token Number heroine to avoid a stand-off with censors. 'The issue was not just her name, it was her relationship with another character, Abraham,' he said. 'We had to fight, but eventually we gave in. And we're not alone.' Even L2: Empuraan, starring industry giants Mohanlal and Prithviraj, wasn't spared. After a storm of right-wing outrage post-release, the film was voluntarily re-edited and re-certified, delaying its rollout and denting its momentum.
'It's now a guessing game,' lamented KFPA vice president G Suresh Kumar. 'You finish shooting, editing, spend crores, and then you're told to change character names to get a certificate? That's not just censorship. That's sabotage.'
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