For years, the biggest headaches a film producer faced were last-minute release hurdles or disappointing box office numbers. Those concerns have not gone away, but there's another issue that has lately joined the list of obstacles. Titles, dialogues, financial disputes, legal battles – each of these now has the potential to derail a project before audiences even get a chance to see a film. The challenge, increasingly dominating conversations in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam film circles, arrives at the final lap, in the guise of the Central Board of Film Certification, better known as the CBFC or censor board.
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What was once an occasional friction point has, in recent months, become a pattern. Demands for title changes, last-minute cuts, and certification decisions that filmmakers describe as erratic, are piling up, raising serious questions about creative freedom and the board's expanding role in shaping what Indian audiences are allowed to watch.
What's in a name? Ask the censors
While the censor board taking objection to a title or a few dialogues are nothing new, the cases are mounting with unsettling regularity in recent times. Earlier this month, just before release, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar's debut directorial, Saraswathi, was asked to go for a change in title. The film's name was changed to S Saraswathi, after the board took objection to the use of the goddess' name as the title.
Last year, the Malayalam film Janaki vs State of Kerala faced a similar issue. The CBFC cited religious concerns, noting that 'Janaki' refers to the Hindu goddess Sita, and objected to using the name for a sexual assault victim.
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