In Kerala, a battle over cinema, faith and free speech

What’s in a name, wrote the Bard. Everything, if one were to go by the Central Board of Film Certification’s ‘request’ for a change of name to the makers of Janaki vs State of Kerala.

The Malayalam film stars Suresh Gopi, veteran actor, first-time BJP MP from Thrissur and a minister of state in Narendra Modi’s government. The CBFC has objected to the victim of sexual assault — the chief protagonist — being named Janaki, another name for Sita in the Ramayana.

The local press had reported that the film was initially cleared by the CBFC’s regional office in Thiruvananthapuram before a revision committee in Mumbai stepped in and asked for a change in the name of the character and the film, which was to be released on 27 June.

The film's director Pravin Narayanan, according to a report in The Hindu, said the producers were ready to dispatch copies of the film with the censor’s clearance when they heard from CBFC. When they asked for a written statement, the board reportedly remained evasive.

The film’s producers, Cosmos Entertainment, approached Kerala High Court, where the censor board came in for rebuke. Justice N. Nagaresh pointed out that films like Seeta aur Geeta (1972) and Ram Lakhan (1989) had, in the past, been released without anyone complaining. Why now, he asked the deputy solicitor-general appearing for the CBFC.

The CBFC claimed the film violated guidelines under Section 5B(2) of the Cinematograph Act 1952, which bars visuals or dialogue deemed offensive to racial, religious and other groups. The court noted that the screening committee had cleared the film. The sequence of events suggests intervention by someone after that.

The Kerala High Court on June 30 expressed its perplexity at the objection raised by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to the name of the titular character of upcoming Malayalam movie JSK: Janaki v State of Kerala, starring Union Minister Suresh Gopi.

The judge said… pic.twitter.com/FbIQJyisXS

— Bar and Bench (@barandbench) June 30, 2025

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Ironically, Gopi plays David Abel Donovan, a lawyer fighting for justice for his client Janaki, a sexual assault victim. Kerala Kaumudi reported that Gopi had tried to intervene, but was not successful.

Gopi began his political career as an activist of the Students Federation of India, the CPI(M)’s student wing, and has campaigned for both the Left Front and the Congress in Kerala before formally joining the BJP in 2016. He lost the 2019 general elections but won in 2024 to become the first BJP MP from Kerala.

Understandably, and justifiably, film industry bodies are furious and have announced public protests. These include the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA, representing those behind the camera and associated roles), Kerala Film Producers Association, and the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA).

B. Unnikrishnan, director and producer, voiced concerns over the long-term implications of the case, and pointed out that Janaki was a common name and has been used in films before. What has changed now, he asked.

The CBFC has had its share of controversy over the years, with accusations surfacing of late that it was functioning as an ideological gatekeeper for the BJP. Recently it blocked the release of Santosh, a film highlighting police brutality, caste oppression and Islamophobia. The Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha, an organisation of civil rights activists, noted that films promoting RSS and BJP ideology receive automatic clearance.

Putting the absurdity into context, director Renji Panicker said, “characters will now have to be given numbers, not names”, given that most Indian Hindus are named after gods and goddesses. Sita herself is known by 108 names in the scriptures (Sita ashtottara shata namavali); and Lalita — the consort of Lord Shiva — by a thousand names (Lalita sahasranamam), to name just two.

At the core of the controversy then is not just the name. It is about who gets to tell the stories.