Kerala HC closes case, MoS Suresh Gopi's film to release tomorrow

Kochi, July 16
After weeks of legal wrangling and uncertainty, Union Minister of State for Tourism and BJP leader Suresh Gopi's latest film, Janaki. V vs State of Kerala, on Wednesday, has finally been cleared for release by the Kerala High Court.

The court has said that the prime grievance of the petitioner now stands redressed.

The film will be released on Thursday.

On July 12, all the decks was cleared when the film received clearance from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

The film, originally titled "Janaki vs State of Kerala", ran into trouble when the CBFC objected to the use of the name "Janaki" in the title, citing concerns under Section 5B(2) of the Cinematograph Act.

The production company challenged the decision in the Kerala High Court, initiating a legal battle that drew considerable public attention.

Following three rounds of hearings, the producers of the film, initially unwilling to change the title, agreed to a slight modification, renaming the film "Janaki. V vs State of Kerala" during the July 9 hearing.

The production team's counsel, Rajya Sabha MP Haris Beeran, said the compromise was a mutual decision after both parties opted for a softer approach.

Initially, the CBFC had proposed 96 cuts to the film, but after multiple rounds of discussion, that number was reduced to just two.

Additionally, two film dialogues were muted.

The re-edited version was resubmitted on Saturday, and the CBFC promptly granted certification to the film, which was initially slated for release on June 27.

During the July 2 hearing, Justice N. Nagaresh had remarked that the CBFC's objection to the name "Janaki" was unwarranted.

"She is not a rapist. If a rapist were named Rama, Krishna, or Janaki, then I could understand the concern. But here, she is the heroine, a survivor seeking justice," the judge observed, defending the creative choice.

With this the case has come to a close and now all eyes are on how the film will fare at the box office as more than adequate pre-publicity has already been received.