The Telangana high court on 28th November said, it did not find any ground or urgency to direct the Central Board of Film Certification to examine Penmasta Ram Gopal Varma’s Telugu film, Kamma Rajyam Lo Kadapa Reddlu early. Varma told the court that he was ready to change the film’s title if the CBFC would certify it before Friday (29th) when it was scheduled to release. He said, he would suffer heavy losses if the film was not certified on 28th itself.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A. Abhishek Reddy said that Varma did not mention what loss he would suffer and the nature of loss. In other words, he did not justify why the court should give directions to the CBFC, based on his prayer.
The bench directed the CBFC to examine the film in a week and consider the grievances raised by some of the petitioners that the film was made to defame one caste and particularly some persons. If the CBFC found the film to be insensitive towards the communities, the court said, it (CBFC) had the right to direct not just a change in title but also scenes. The court added that Varma would not be doing anyone a favour by changing the title as he would be duty-bound to do so and to even alter scenes if they were found by the CBFC to be objectionable.
The court recalled rule 41 of the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, which gives the CBFC 68 days to certify a film. The bench disposed of another petition filed against the film, which claimed that it would defame Telugu Desam leaders. It said that the leaders had every right to take recourse to legal remedy.
