Christian organisation moves Kerala HC claiming Shane Nigam's Haal contains objectionable content
The Catholic Congress, an organisation of the laity under the Syro-Malabar church, on Friday told the Kerala High Court that the upcoming Malayalam movie Haal starring Shine Nigam has "objectionable content" which could cause "religious disharmony".
The claim was made by the Christian organisation in an application filed in the High Court seeking impleadment in a plea moved by the film's producers alleging an inordinate delay by the censor board (CBFC) in issuing the censorship certificate.
Justice V G Arun allowed the impleadment application and listed the matter on October 21, when the court will decide on the petitioner-producer's request to view the film. In its application, filed through advocates Shinu J Pillai and Mariya Rajan, the Catholic Congress has claimed that the film "contains objectionable content regarding the Thamarassery Bishop House" and also depicted him without his or the Thamarassery Diocese's permission.
It further claimed that the film is "not eligible" for public exhibition certification as it "poses a potential threat to the social and communal harmony". The application also claimed that the content and plot of the film were, per se, "encouraged the concept of Love Jihad" and depicted the Thamarassery Bishop as a supporter of the same.
"It is respectfully submitted that if such scenes are permitted and the film is exhibited in the present form, it will hurt the religious sentiments of the Christian community and disrupt the peace and harmony of the society," it claimed. The film has not yet received certification for public exhibition, as the CBFC has ordered the removal of several scenes, including depictions of beef biryani consumption and dialogues referencing 'dhwaj pranam'.
It had been said that the film was not suitable for unrestricted public exhibition but could be released for adults with certain modifications. It had asked producer Juby Thomas to carry out the recommended excisions and alterations before the certificate was issued.
The petitioners—producer Juby Thomas and director Muhammed Rafeek—have claimed the film, which cost nearly Rs 15 crore, was initially planned as an Onam release, but its clearance has been held up without explanation. They have claimed that forwarding their film to the Revising Committee without any intimation was "illegal and arbitrary".
In July this year, a similar issue arose when the CBFC flagged the name of the movie Janaki vs State of Kerala. Later, the makers of the movie decided to change the name to Janaki V v/s State of Kerala.
