Latest news with #JSK:Janaki
Indian Express
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
To settle whether ‘Janaki' should stay in Suresh Gopi film title or not, a special screening for Kerala High Court
The controversy over the CBFC demanding a change in the name of the Suresh Gopi-starrer JSK: Janaki vs State of Kerala has taken yet another turn, with the Kerala High Court saying it will watch the movie on Saturday. After the CBFC demanded a change in the title as well as the name of the protagonist, on the ground that Janaki is also a name for goddess Sita, the producers had approached the HC over the delay in granting a certificate to the film, which should have hit screens on June 27. On Wednesday, while hearing the arguments, the Bench of Justice N Nagaresh said the court will watch the movie on Saturday and consider the matter on Tuesday. On Monday, while hearing the matter, the judge had directed the Deputy Solicitor General of India (DSGI), O M Shalina, who appeared for the CBFC, to submit an affidavit on July 2, detailing the reasons for not issuing the screening certificate to the film. On Wednesday, the CBFC sought more time to file the affidavit. Earlier, the Union Government had told the court that the film's name refers to the goddess Sita, and the petitioners can use a neutral name instead. The CBFC also submitted that the title violates guidelines issued by the Union Government in conformity with Section 5B(2) of the Cinematograph Act, which deals with certifying films. At this stage, the court had asked, 'Now you will dictate to directors and artists which names they should use and which stories they should tell. What is wrong with Janaki? How is it contemptuous of a religion? … That is the freedom of artists.'' When the petitioner said the film is about the fight of a rape survivor and Janaki is the name of the protagonist, the court noted, 'Janaki is not a rapist. If a rapist is named as Rama, Krishna, Janaki, then I can understand. The heroine is fighting for justice, what is the problem with that name?'' Rajya Sabha MP and advocate Haris Beeran, who appeared for the producers, said the film's teaser has been certified by the CBFC. The teaser was released three months ago, and so far, no complaints had emerged related to the title, he pointed out. 'Has anyone complained about the name Janaki? Whose sentiments are being hurt? Has anyone actually raised an objection?' the judge asked.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
‘Now you'll dictate to directors which names they should use…': Kerala HC to censor board amid row over ‘Janaki' in film title
The Kerala High Court Monday asked whether the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is dictating the names and stories of the movies now. On the second day of hearing of the petition of producers of Suresh Gopi-starrer movie 'JSK: Janaki vs State of Kerala', which was denied certificate over the name Janaki, another name for Goddess Sita, the bench of Justice N Nagaresh directed Deputy Solicitor General of India (DSGI) O M Shalina, who appeared for the CBFC, to submit an affidavit on July 2, detailing the reasons for not issuing the screening certificate to the film. On Monday, the DSGI told the court that film name Janaki refers to the Hindu goddess Sita, and the petitioners can use a neutral name for their film. The CBFC also submitted that the title of the film violates the guidelines issued by the Union Government in conformity with the Section 5B(2) of the Cinematograph Act, which deals with certifying films. At this stage, the court asked, 'Now you will dictate to directors and artists which names they should use and which stories they should tell. What is wrong with Janaki? How is it contemptuous of a religion? … That is the freedom of artists.'' The court said 80 per cent of the names in India have religious connotations and that the CBFC cannot dictate which name should be given or which story should be told. Observing that the board has no right to interfere with the story of a film, the court directed the CBFC to give a convincing answer how the name Janaki amounted contemptuous to racial, religious or other groups. When the petitioner said the film is about the fight of a rape survivor and Janaki is the name of the protagonist, the court wondered, 'Janaki is not a rapist. If a rapist is named as Rama, Krishna, Janaki, then I can understand. The heroine is fighting for justice, what is the problem with that name?'' Rajya Sabha MP and advocate Haris Beeran, who appeared for the producers, said the teaser of the film has been certified by the CBFC. The teaser was released three months back and so far no complaints had emerged related to the title Janaki, he pointed out. 'Has anyone complained about the name Janaki? Whose sentiments are being hurt? Has anyone actually raised an objection?' the judge asked. Following opposition to the CBFC regional office's first demand for a change in the title of the film, the matter was taken up by the Revising Committee of the board, which also called for the name change. On Friday, while hearing the petition, the court had directed the CBFC to furnish the show cause notice the CBFC had served on the film producers, Cosmos Entertainments. The case will be taken up again on Wednesday. The Pravin Narayanan-directed film, also starring Anupama Parameswaran in the lead role, reportedly revolves around the legal battle of an assaulted woman named Janaki against the state.
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Kerala HC questions CBFC over Suresh Gopi's Janaki vs State of Kerala row: ‘We have films with Ram, Sita in title'
Jun 27, 2025 07:12 PM IST The Kerala High Court on Friday questioned the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on their decision to withhold certification for Union Minister, actor Suresh Gopi's upcoming Malayalam film JSK: Janaki vs State of Kerala. A Bar and Bench report states that the court pointed out that Indian films have Ram and Sita in the title, so it sees no objection. Suresh Gopi and Anupama Parameswaran in a still from Janaki vs State of Kerala. Deputy Solicitor General of India (DGSI), Om Shalina, appeared before the HC on behalf of the CBFC and said the objection was regarding the central character of the film named Janaki, an iteration of Goddess Sita. The judge questioned the reasoning and pointed out that censor certificates were issued in the past despite names of Gods in titles, stating, 'Why should somebody change the name of a character? Janaki is a common name used everywhere. What religious purpose? We have movies with names Sita and Gita. Janaki is Sita. Nothing happened then. Nobody had any complaints. We have a film named Ram Lakhan. Nobody has any complaint. How come there are some complaints for Janaki now?' JSK's producers, Cosmos Entertainment, filed a petition regarding the delay in censor certification. The petition mentioned that though the film certification was submitted on 12 June, the CBFC hasn't issued a certificate or issued any official objections. It also mentioned that the CBFC provided a certificate with no objections for the film's teaser. The petition states that the delay in certification was over an informal objection, claiming they only found out about the objection through news reports. They also called the objection 'arbitrary'. The DGSI claimed that the objection was to the film's 'mature themes', including sexual crime against women and explicit language used against women. JSK, directed by Pravin Narayanan, was supposed to hit screens on 27 June. The General Secretary of the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA), B Unnikrishnan, announced a symbolic protest before the CBFC office on Monday, calling the pressure over title change 'disturbing'.
