How can CBFC deny certificate to Manushi without specifying objectionable scenes, asks Madras High Court

A poster of the film Manushi. | Photo Credit: X/@GopiNainar

The Madras High Court on Wednesday (June 4, 2025) wondered how the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) could deny certification to the Vetri Maaran-produced film Manushi without specifying the objectionable scenes, visuals, dialogues, music, or other content that would need to be edited before public screening.

Justice N. Anand Venkatesh said, unless the objectionable portions of the movie were spelt out by the CBFC, the producer would be groping in the dark without knowing which parts of the film required editing and end up suffering huge monetary loss, as the entire movie had already been shot.

The judge directed Central government senior panel counsel A. Kumaraguru to take instructions from the CBFC by June 16 with respect to the portions that required editing. In the alternative, the officials could watch the movie along with the producer and point out the objectionable portions to him, the judge said.

“Making a movie is a part of the right to speech and expression. As such, the filmmakers are already suffering from a lot of difficulties. You cannot deny certification for an entire movie without specifying the objectionable portions and expect a filmmaker to shoot the entire movie afresh,” the judge told the counsel.

When he was told that the examining committee as well as the screening committee (an appellate body) of the CBFC had recommended against certifying the movie, the judge perused the orders passed by the board and found that it had given five reasons for denying certification to Manushi.

The reasons cited by the CBFC in the rejection order were that the movie went against the integrity of the State; it had scenes that were contemptuous; it defames government policies; it portrays stereotypes leading to north/south divide; and that it had many scenes that were against the interests of the country.

“These conclusions are not subjective but based on objective facts, which are discernable from various scenes in the movie. Therefore, if at all the petitioner is required to edit those portions, he must be informed about the specific portions that required such editing,” the judge said, and sought the CBFC’s response by June 11, 2025.

Manushi is produced by Vetri Maaran’s Grassroot Film Company and directed by Aramm fame Gopi Nainar. The film stars Andrea Jeremiah in the lead role, with key supporting roles played by actors Nasser, Tamizh, Hakkim Shah, and Balaji Sakthivel.

Acclaimed musician Ilaiyaraaja had composed the music for the film, and its trailer released by actor Vijay Sethupathi in April 2024 had received critical acclaim as it showed moving scenes pertaining to the custodial torture of a woman suspected to be a terrorist.

Published - June 04, 2025 01:43 pm IST