In a rare move, the Madras High Court has decided to directly view the Tamil film Manushi before ruling on a dispute between its makers and the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

Justice N Anand Venkatesh, while hearing a fresh plea from Vetri Maaran, the film's producer, ordered a special screening on August 24 at a private theatre on Dr D.G.S. Dhinakaran Salai (formerly Greenways Road). The judge said the only way to assess the censor board’s stance was to “personally watch the film along with the CBFC members” to evaluate whether the 37 cuts demanded were justified.

The film, produced under Vetri Maaran’s Grassroot Film Company and directed by Gopi Nainar of Aramm fame, stars Andrea Jeremiah in the lead. It portrays the custodial torture of a woman suspected to be a terrorist, a theme that has drawn scrutiny ever since actor Vijay Sethupathi launched its trailer in April 2024.

Trouble for Manushi began in September 2024, when both the examining and reviewing committees of the CBFC denied certification, citing that the film depicted the State in a “negative light” and blurred distinctions between “leftist communism” and “mainstream communism.”

Challenging the rejection, Vetri Maaran filed a writ petition in June, accusing the board of acting without transparency by failing to provide him a chance to defend the film or give clear reasons for its objections. He also sought the appointment of an expert panel, including human rights activists, to review the film.

While that petition was closed after the CBFC submitted a list of objectionable sequences, the producer returned to court, calling the board’s conditions “excessive and arbitrary”. Even minor expressions, such as the colloquial insult “saniyan”, had been flagged for deletion, which, he argued, went against the CBFC’s own guidelines.

Justice Venkatesh has now directed senior central government panel counsel A Kumaraguru to ensure CBFC representatives attend the upcoming screening.