Producer of Janaki Vs State of Kerala film moves HC against CBFC delay
Follow TNM’s WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.The Kerala High Court, on Wednesday, June 25, heard a petition filed by Cosmos Entertainment, the production house behind the Malayalam film JSK: Janaki v/s State of Kerala, seeking a direction to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to certify the film without further delay. The film, which stars BJP Union Minister of State Suresh Gopi, is scheduled for worldwide release on June 27, 2025.According to Live Law, the petitioner stated that the film was submitted through the e-cinemapramaan portal on June 12, and censor screening was completed by June 18. While no formal objections have been raised by the CBFC to date, the producers have alleged that informal objections were made regarding the use of the name ‘Janaki’, the name of the film and its protagonist, due to its association with the Hindu goddess Sita. The name Janaki lands two Malayalam films in trouble with CBFC The petitioner also argued that the trailer of the film, which used the same title and character name, had already received CBFC certification earlier, adding to the confusion over the current objections. As per the e-cinemapramaan portal, the film’s status is now marked as “pending for issuance of show cause notice for cuts submission.”“The film is scheduled for release on 27.06.2025, and the continued delay in certification is causing serious financial loss and irreparable injury to the petitioner,” stated the plea. “The petitioner had invested crores of rupees for the advertisement and distribution of the said movie and the theatres across the globe have been blocked for the release. All the promotions of the movie are done in this name.”According to Times of India, the matter was listed before Justice N Nagaresh, who heard arguments regarding the alleged arbitrariness of the CBFC’s position, particularly since the teaser had been cleared without objections.Similarly, another Malayalam film titled Token Number also faced similar objections over the name ‘Janaki’, because the character was romantically involved with a Christian man. In that case, filmmaker MB Padmakumar said the CBFC had not given any official notice but conveyed its disapproval via WhatsApp calls, ultimately coercing the team to change the name to ‘Jayanti’. Even this change was reportedly not accepted initially.B Unnikrishnan, general secretary of the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA), had previously told TNM that the character in Janaki Vs State of Kerala is a survivor of abuse and that officials had objected to her being named after a goddess. “Let them now add a list of names to the guidelines that we could use for our characters,” he said sarcastically, pointing out the absence of any such restriction in CBFC’s official norms.Unnikrishnan said that even Suresh Gopi, the film’s lead actor and Union Minister, had intervened in the issue after hearing of the delay, but there had been no update yet.The High Court is expected to issue further directions after hearing CBFC’s side of the matter.
Follow TNM’s WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.
THE Kerala High Court, on Wednesday, June 25, heard a petition filed by Cosmos Entertainment, the production house behind the Malayalam film JSK: Janaki v/s State of Kerala, seeking a direction to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to certify the film without further delay. The film, which stars BJP Union Minister of State Suresh Gopi, is scheduled for worldwide release on June 27, 2025.
According to Live Law, the petitioner stated that the film was submitted through the e-cinemapramaan portal on June 12, and censor screening was completed by June 18.
While no formal objections have been raised by the CBFC to date, the producers have alleged that informal objections were made regarding the use of the name ‘Janaki’, the name of the film and its protagonist, due to its association with the Hindu goddess Sita.
The petitioner also argued that the trailer of the film, which used the same title and character name, had already received CBFC certification earlier, adding to the confusion over the current objections. As per the e-cinemapramaan portal, the film’s status is now marked as “pending for issuance of show cause notice for cuts submission.”
“The film is scheduled for release on 27.06.2025, and the continued delay in certification is causing serious financial loss and irreparable injury to the petitioner,” stated the plea. “The petitioner had invested crores of rupees for the advertisement and distribution of the said movie and the theatres across the globe have been blocked for the release. All the promotions of the movie are done in this name.”
According to Times of India, the matter was listed before Justice N Nagaresh, who heard arguments regarding the alleged arbitrariness of the CBFC’s position, particularly since the teaser had been cleared without objections.
Similarly, another Malayalam film titled Token Number also faced similar objections over the name ‘Janaki’, because the character was romantically involved with a Christian man. In that case, filmmaker MB Padmakumar said the CBFC had not given any official notice but conveyed its disapproval via WhatsApp calls, ultimately coercing the team to change the name to ‘Jayanti’. Even this change was reportedly not accepted initially.
B Unnikrishnan, general secretary of the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA), had previously told TNM that the character in Janaki Vs State of Kerala is a survivor of abuse and that officials had objected to her being named after a goddess.
“Let them now add a list of names to the guidelines that we could use for our characters,” he said sarcastically, pointing out the absence of any such restriction in CBFC’s official norms.
Unnikrishnan said that even Suresh Gopi, the film’s lead actor and Union Minister, had intervened in the issue after hearing of the delay, but there had been no update yet.
The High Court is expected to issue further directions after hearing CBFC’s side of the matter.
