JSK – Janaki Vs State of Kerala row: Kerala High Court to watch film on July 5

The Kerala High Court is set to watch the Malayalam film JSK – Janaki Vs State of Kerala starring Union Minister Suresh Gopi, for which the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has not issued censor certificate yet, on Saturday (July 7, 2025). The court said it would first watch the movie before passing any orders.

Justice N. Nagaresh will watch the movie at 10 a.m. at Lal Media, Palarivattom. The film’s production company Cosmos Entertainments, which is the petitioner, had requested that the court watch the film.

Justice N. Nagaresh stated that a representative of both the petitioner and the CBFC, or their counsel, be present during the screening. “Considering the allegations in the petitions, I believe it is appropriate to watch the movie before arriving at a decision,” he added.

The court had on Monday termed the CBFC’s revising committee seeking a change of the name ‘Janaki’ in the title and of the protagonist “a challenge to the freedom of creative expression.”

Justifying the demand for the change of name, the board’s counsel had contended that the character Janaki in the film is sexually assaulted.

To this, the counsel for the petitioner argued that the character Janaki who is portrayed in the film is “a fighter for justice.” He said the CBFC had not cited any problem with ‘Janaki’ in the title earlier this year when its trailer was released. “The same board had also issued a censor certificate to a film by name ‘Janaki Jaane,” he pointed out.

The court observed that “the character is a victim who is fighting for justice, and is not an accused. Moreover, In India, a good share of names are either of gods and goddesses or have similarities with their names.”

The case has been posted for hearing on July 8.