'Janaki Vs State of Kerala' director Pravin Narayanan has expressed his disappointment over the controversy regarding his maiden film, which has run into trouble with the Central Board of Film Certification regarding the title. Pravin told Onmanorama that he along with the producers are hoping for a favourable High Court order, which would determine the future of the film.

'Janaki Vs State of Kerala' was supposed to hit theatres last week, but the film was put on hold after the Central Board objected to the use of the name Janaki in the film as it was an alternative name of the goddess Sita. Anupama Parameshwaran plays a rape survivor Janaki in the movie who goes to court for justice.

ADVERTISEMENT

Pravin also spoke of the difficulties in trying to make changes to the name demanded by the Censor Board. "We have dubbed the movie in five languages. The name Janaki has been uttered over 90 times in the film. It is extremely difficult to bring back all the artists together to dub a different name," he said.

Pravin said the film would be further delayed if the movie is sent for screening to the Revision Committee two, which would comprise 15 members. "The Censor Board may suggest the film be sent to the revision committee two, which is a time-consuming process. The first revision committee only comprised nine members. In the second revision committee, 15 members, including actors, will have to come together to watch the movie and make a decision. This process is expected to take at least three months. This will cause huge loss to the producers," he said.

suresh-gopi-janaki
Pravin reacted to the controversy with a post on Facebook

Pravin also spoke of the unfortunate rules in India that are affecting filmmakers like him. "The situation in India has changed since the time I conceived 'Janaki' in 2018. We were shocked when the Censor Board informed us that the film could not be screened due to a name. I spent seven years of my life on this film. It's heartbreaking to learn that it cannot be released because of such a reason," he said. He added that the movie is female-centric and even discusses laws and issues that will be an eye-opener to society.

The comments posted here/below/in the given space are not on behalf of Onmanorama. The person posting the comment will be in sole ownership of its responsibility. According to the central government's IT rules, obscene or offensive statement made against a person, religion, community or nation is a punishable offense, and legal action would be taken against people who indulge in such activities.