Rajinikanth’s Coolie censor row: Madras High Court dismisses Sun TV Network’s appeal against ‘A’ certificate

The Madras High Court on Thursday (August 28, 2025) dismissed a civil miscellaneous appeal filed by Sun TV Network Limited against the grant of ‘A’ certificate to the Rajinikanth-starrer Coolie, thereby making it impermissible for those below 18 years of age to watch the movie in cinema theatres.

Justice T.V. Thamilselvi rejected the appeal filed by the production house under Section 5 of the Copyright Act of 1957. The appellant had challenged the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC)‘s decision that the movie was unfit to be watched by children due to its violent content and sustained portrayal of smoking and consumption of liquor.

Defending its decision before the High Court, the Board said, Section 58(2) of the Cinematograph Act authorises the Centre to issue such directions, as it may deem fit, setting out the principles which shall guide the CBFC in issuing appropriate certificate to films intended for public exhibition.

Accordingly, the Centre had issued the guidelines in 1991, requiring the CBFC to ensure that the medium of cinema remains responsible and sensitive to values and standards of society, provides clean and healthy entertainment, and that the films were of aesthetic value and of cinematically good standard.

In pursuance of those objectives, the CBFC was expected to make sure that anti-social activities and violence were not glorified or justified in cinema. It was also expected to avoid pointless scenes of violence, cruelty, or horror, as well as scenes of violence, which may the have the effect of dehumanising the audience.

Stating that every movie gets judged by the Board in its entirety and not just based on one or two visuals or scenes, the CBFC told the court that Coolie was examined as per the guidelines and it was found fit to be issued only an ‘A’ certificate by a five-member examining committee as well as a 10-member revising committee.

The Board also told the court that the examining committee members were completely different from the members of the revising committee, and that the latter was presided over by a CBFC member who was a renowned film director and a recipient of as many as eight national awards and 15 State awards.

“After viewing the film and a detailed and threadbare discussion, the revising committee too recommended the grant of an ‘A’ certificate to Coolie because it contained frequent and extensive violence, apart from sustained portrayal of smoking and drinking liquor with occasional use of bad language,” Additional Solicitor General AR.L. Sundaresan said.

The revising committee had informed the filmmakers, during an oral hearing, that they may have to edit out certain visuals if they wanted a U/A certification for the movie. “The appellant was not interested in making any cuts to the fllm for making it fit for U/A certification, and accepted the ‘A’ rating,” the ASG added.

He also argued that the production firm ought to have approached the court immediately after the revising committee, on August 4, 2025, conveyed its decision to issue only an ‘A’ certificate, and not after accepting the ‘A’ certificate and releasing the movie in theatres across the country on August 14, 2025.