CBFC revising committee rejects certification to JSK - Janaki vs State of Kerala

The revising committee of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has also demanded the makers of the film JSK - Janaki vs State of Kerala, starring Union Minister Suresh Gopi, to change the title of the film as well as the name of the protagonist. Pravin Narayanan, director of the film, announced the revising committee’s decision in a social media post on Thursday.

The filmmaker had earlier told The Hindu that the Thiruvananthapuram regional office of the CBFC had cleared the censoring of the film on June 18 with a U/A certificate. However, when the regional office forwarded the same to the CBFC headquarters in Mumbai, the higher officials there demanded a change in the title as well as the name of the titular character of Janaki, apparently because the name also refers to the Hindu goddess Sita. It was conveyed to the makers through unofficial channels that the victim of a sexual assault cannot be named after a goddess.

Protests planned

Following the news of the rejection by the revising committee, various film bodies have begun planning for protests and legal action against the CBFC over the alleged repeated instances of censors making such demands of filmmakers. The revising committee met after the makers of the film approached the Kerala High Court alleging delay by the CBFC in issuing a censor certificate to the film. The delay has led to huge losses to the producers who had organised marketing campaigns and promotional events for the film, which was supposed to release on June 27.