4 months ago
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Close connected the heels of histrion Vijay’s Jana Nayagan censor row, the producers of yet different Tamil movie person approached the Madras High Court against the refusal of censor certificate to it by Central Board of Film Certificate (CBFC) connected the crushed that the movie had galore visuals and dialogues contemptuous of spiritual groups and hence not suitable for nationalist exhibition.
Justice K. Govindarajan Thilakavadi has ordered announcement to the CBFC connected the statutory entreaty filed by the accumulation location against the refusal bid and granted clip till February 3, 2026 for the committee to record its antagonistic affidavit. The bid was passed aft proceeding advocator M. Santhanaraman for the appellant who contended the refusal to contented a certificate was without exertion of mind.
The counsel told the tribunal Chennai based Youreka Cinema School, owned by J. Joseph Mohan Kumar, had produced a romanticist movie titled Lakshmi Lawrence Kadhal with respective debutant actors playing the pb roles. He said, renowned movie histrion K.R. Vijaya and acclaimed drums subordinate Sivamani had played important characters alongside the caller faces.
The lyrics for the songs had been penned by Vairamuthu. The movie was submitted for certification connected September 10, 2025 connected outgo of ₹28,084 towards certification fee. On September 29, 2025, the CBFC’s Chennai Region Director D. Balamurali wrote to the shaper refusing to contented a certificate for the movie.
“I americium directed by the Board to pass you that the movie has been viewed by the Examining Committee (comprising 5 members) and the Board has travel to the decision that a certificate cannot beryllium issued for its exhibition,” the connection read. It said the crushed for denial of certificate was the movie had aggregate visuals and dialogues contemptuous of spiritual groups.
The shaper was informed helium could similar an entreaty to the revising committee wrong 14 days arsenic per the provisions of the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024. Accordingly, the shaper went connected entreaty but the nine-member revising committee excessively concurred with the determination of the five-member examining committee and concluded the movie should not beryllium allowed for nationalist exhibition.
Giving further reasons for its decision, the revising committe said, the movie “portrays its mentation of assorted content systems successful their adaption of modern science, rituals based connected beliefs, attraction of women and downtrodden and caste-based favoritism and consistently portrays 1 content strategy successful atrocious airy and the different 1 arsenic emancipating, passim the film, maliciously. Overall, it affects the societal cloth of the nine negatively. Hence the movie is refused certification.”
The CBFC Regional Director had conveyed the revising committee’s determination to the shaper connected December 16, 2025 and hence the accumulation location had travel connected further entreaty to the High Court since the Cinematograph Appellate Tribunal had been abolished and therefore, the entreaty would prevarication lone earlier the High Court arsenic per the provisions of the Tribunal Reforms Act of 2021.
Assailing the reasons cited for refusal of certification, Mr. Santhanaraman contended the CBFC could not walk a broad bid refusing to certify the movie without specifying which of the peculiar scenes oregon dialogues reportedly interruption the guidelines issued for movie certification.
He said, the full thought down Lakshmi Lawrence Kadhal was lone to convey the connection that creation forms specified arsenic Bharatanatyam were universal, without immoderate spiritual identity, and they could beryllium performed by immoderate person, irrespective of his/her religion, by learning the niceties. Such an look of sentiment does not warrant a broad ban, helium argued.
