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The release of the Suresh Gopi-starrer Malayalam movie 'J.S.K-Janaki vs. State of Kerala' has hit a hurdle with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) denying it screening permission reportedly over the name of the title character, industry sources said.

The Pravin Narayanan-directed movie, with Union Minister Suresh Gopi and Anupama Parameswaran in lead roles, reportedly revolves around the legal battle of an assaulted woman named Janaki against the state.

According to sources, the film was reportedly denied screening clearance, citing that 'Janaki', an alternative name of Goddess Sita, cannot be used for such a character.

Later in the day, state General Education Minister V Sivankutty came out with a sarcastic Facebook post apparently referring to the reported denial of screening permission to the movie by the Censor Board.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Anupama Parameswaran (@anupamaparameswaran96)

"Censor Board or senseless Board?" the minister asked in the FB post without directly mentioning the issue.

Narayanan, in a Facebook post, confirmed on Saturday that the Censor Board has denied screening permission for the movie.

There would be no release on June 27, he said in the FB post without elaborating.

Meanwhile, noted director B Unnikrishnan, the general secretary of the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA), on Sunday told reporters that the makers of the JSK were clearly informed by the CBFC that the name 'Janaki' cannot be used in the movie.

"They have not received any written information in this regard. A show-cause notice is yet to be received. They expect to get it by Monday," he told reporters in Kochi.

The CBFC clearly stated to the film's crew that the name 'Sita' cannot be used either in the title or for the character in the movie, Unnikrishnan said.

"The story is about the legal fight carried out by an assaulted woman against the state. It is said (by the Board) that Goddess Sita's name cannot be given to the woman character who suffered assault," he said.

He said another Malayalam filmmaker also recently faced a similar issue over the name of a character called 'Janaki' in his movie, and he was forced to change it to "Jayanthi" to get Censor Board certification.

Terming the Board's action as "strange", the FEFKA secretary asked where the country is heading.

He said the filmmakers are even denied the freedom to give names of their choice to the characters in their films.

The director also said that in this circumstance, 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.

Union Minister Suresh Gopi and the makers of the film were immediately not available for a comment. 

(This report has been published as part of an auto-generated syndicated wire feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been modified or edited by ABP LIVE.)