Overview

• The court set a June 30 deadline for the CBFC to formally explain why the name ‘Janaki’—an epithet of the goddess Sita—should be removed from JSK – Janaki vs State of Kerala before resuming hearings.
• Mumbai’s Revising Committee overruled the Thiruvananthapuram regional office’s U/A certificate, citing Section 5B(2) of the Cinematograph Act to argue that naming a sexual assault survivor ‘Janaki’ could offend religious sentiments.
• Filmmakers and legal counsel pointed to past films like Seeta Aur Geeta and Ram Lakhan that used deity names without objection to challenge the board’s authority and consistency.
• FEFKA, AMMA, the Kerala Film Producers Association and other industry bodies held a protest on June 30 outside the CBFC regional office, decrying the renaming demand as arbitrary and excessive.
• Cosmos Entertainments’ courtroom drama starring Suresh Gopi and Anupama Parameswaran remains uncertified and its scheduled release has been stalled pending the board’s notice and further court orders.