CBFC blocks release of Suresh Gopi's Janaki vs State of Kerala, demands title change: ‘Cannot name character who suffered assault after Goddess Sita'

After demanding several cuts in Aamir Khan's Sitaare Zameen Par, CBFC has turned its attention to Malayalam film JSK: Janaki vs State of Kerala, starring Union Minister and actor Suresh Gopi. Directed by Pravin Narayanan, the film centers on the legal battle of a woman named Janaki, who fights against the state following an assault. However, the censor board has now objected to the character name's Janaki.
The CBFC stated that the character's name is an alternate name for Goddess Sita and, therefore, should not be associated with a character who undergoes assault in the film. The news was confirmed by the film's director Pravin Narayanan on his Facebook handle. In a post, the director said CBFC has denied a screening certificate for the movie and it would not be released on its scheduled date, June 27.
Meanwhile, Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA)'s General Secretary B Unnikrishnan has reacted to the censor board's objection to the film title, JSK: Janaki vs State of Kerala. Unnikrishnan told PTI, 'It is said by the Board that Goddess Sita's name cannot be given to the woman character who suffered assault.'
He added, 'They have not received any written information in this regard. A show-cause notice is yet to be received.'
Also Read | Diljit Dosanjh says 'nations are at war but music unites them' amid trolling over movie with Pakistani actress Hania Aamir: 'I belong to Mother Earth'
Calling CBFC's objection 'strange', Unnikrishnan said, 'Where is the country heading? In this circumstances, it would be tough to choose a name for characters belonging to the Hindu religion, as the majority of them would be epithets of Gods or Goddesses.'
The censor board's objection has raised many eyebrows, including that of Kerala's General Education Minister V Sivankutty who took to his Facebook account to take a dig at CFBC, questioning, 'Censor Board or senseless Board?'
Apart from Suresh Gopi, JSK: Janaki vs State of Kerala also stars Anupama Parameswaran, Shruthi Ramachandran, Divya Pillai, Baiju Santhosh, Kottayam Ramesh and Shobi Thilakan.

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