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Janaki film row: CBFC limits cuts to 2 in Suresh Gopi’s film, producers agree
The film, starring Union minister of state and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Suresh Gopi and Anupama Parameshwaran in the lead roles, tells the story of a rape survivor fighting for justice
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on Wednesday said it was willing to revise its earlier demand for 96 cuts in the Malayalam film “JSK: Janaki v/s State of Kerala” to just two cuts, which the producers of the film agreed to, marking the end of a three-week legal tussle.
The film, starring Union minister of state and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Suresh Gopi and Anupama Parameshwaran in the lead roles, tells the story of a rape survivor fighting for justice.
CBFC had objected to the name “Janaki” in the title as well as the protagonist’s name, claiming it refers to the Hindu goddess and that its usage in a film about sexual violence would offend religious sentiments.
During the hearing of the case in the Kerala high court, CBFC counsel said that it was ready to grant the producers a censor certificate if they made two changes — one, the film’s title be changed to “Janaki V v/s state of Kerala” indicating the character’s initials and two, the name Janaki be muted in two scenes in the film. The producers agreed to the changes during the hearing.
Advocate Haris Beeran, appearing for the producers, told reporters that his client agreed to the changes suggested by CBFC as they were facing mounting financial losses due to the delay in the release of the film.
“This is a case that we can win 100% on appeal. But, the producers have taken a commercial call. They are facing financial losses due to the delay in the film’s release. They also have an OTT deal that they have to adhere to. That’s why, they have agreed to make the changes. The high court has ordered CBFC to grant the censor certificate within three days of re-submission of the application. So hopefully, the film can release by next Friday,” Beeran told reporters.
The Censor Board had earlier refused to grant certification unless the title was changed, citing potential religious sensitivity, as “Janaki” is also an alternative name for the Hindu goddess Sita.
Pravin Narayanan, the film’s director, said that they would attempt to make the changes and re-submit the application for censor certificate within the next two days. “We have reached an amicable solution. As an artiste, it’s difficult to make such changes, but somewhere, we will have to compromise,” he said.
