The Kerala high court on June 27 questioned the stand of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) that Janaki V/s State Of Kerala could be certified only if the name Janaki was removed from the title. “What is the issue with the name Janaki?” Justice N. Nagaresh asked the CBFC while hearing a petition filed by the film’s producer, seeking a directive to the CBFC to issue certificate to the film in a time-bound manner.
Union minister of state for petroleum and natural gas Suresh Gopi stars in the film which is a courtroom drama.
The CBFC counsel informed the HC that the CBFC’s revising committee had seen the film and recommended changing name of the lead character, Janaki — as it is another name for Sita in Ramayan — both, in the film’s title and in the dialogues wherever it occurs. This drew a sharp objection from the court. The counsel clarified that as per CBFC guidelines, visuals or words contemptuous of racial, religious or other groups should not be presented. In response, the high court wondered how this guideline could apply to this film, noting that Janaki is a common name used everywhere. “How will it apply to a name that doesn’t belong to any particular caste?” the court asked, reminding, “We have a film titled Seeta Aur Geeta. Janaki is Seeta. Nothing happened. No problem, and nobody has had any complaints. We have a film named Ram Lakhan. Nobody had complaints. How come there are some complaints for Janaki now?”
The case was posted for further hearing on June 30.
