Producer Of Suresh Gopi-Starrer ‘Janaki v/s State Of Kerala’ Film Moves Kerala High Court Against Delay In Certification By CBFC
Cosmos Entertainment, the company which has produced the Malayalam movie ‘JSK – Janaki v/s State of Kerala’, has moved the Kerala High Court against the delay by the Central Board of Film Certification in certifying the film.
Notably, Suresh Gopi, a BJP politician and Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, is starring in the movie.
As per the petitioner, they had submitted the film for certification through the e-cinemapramaan portal on 12.06.2025, and the censor screening of the movie was completed on 18.06.2025. It is mentioned in the petition that though CBFC has not raised any formal objection to date, they have come to know from newspaper reports that the board has directed to change the name ‘Janaki’ of the titular character, saying that it refers to the Hindu goddess ‘Sita’.
The petitioner expressed surprise at this demand as the CBFC had earlier certified the trailer of the movie without any such demands. It is submitted that in the e-cinemapraan portal, the current status is shown as ‘pending for issuance of show cause notice for cuts submission’
The petitioner has contended that the continued delay is causing them financial loss and violates their rights under Article 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution.
“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. 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 of the said movie. All the promotions of the movie are done in this name.”, the petitioner contends.
The case is listed before the High Court on Wednesday.
The plea is moved by Advocates Anand B. Menon, Haris Beeran, Azhar Assees, Nabil Khader
Case Title: M/s Cosmos Entertainments v The Regional Officer, CBFC and Others
Case No: WP(C) 23326/ 2025
