The Kerala High Court recently dismissed the appeal of Catholic Congress and Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) objecting to several scenes of the “Haal” movie including alleged ‘love jihad’ references and the burqa scene, finding the objections “totally unfounded and trumped-up” and based on the viewpoint of a person having a “hypersensitive, intolerant, and blinkered mind.” Justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and P V Balakrishnan said, “The film must be judged by its overall message and not from isolated depictions of social evils and it need not comply strictly with religious requirements or be excessively moralising.” “Care must also be taken not to crucify the rights of an expressive mind, which may create characters different than an ordinary man and the judgment must be on the basis of the standards of a reasonable, strong-minded, and courageous man, having common sense and prudence and not that of a person who is hypersensitive and is having a wobbling mind,” the court added. The court was hearing the appeal from the Catholic Congress and CBFC, challenging the single bench’s November order directing the censor board to issue a fresh certificate after completing the procedural formalities within two months of resubmission. The censor board had earlier suggested modifications and excisions of various scenes, including the beef-eating scene and the burqa scene, of which the filmmakers voluntarily accepted only two excisions. On December 12, the high court upheld the single judge’s directions for fresh certification of the film after procedural compliance. Love story between ‘Muslim boy, Christian girl’ The high court, after watching the Shane Nigam starrer film on December 3, said, “The movie as a whole depicts a love story between a Muslim boy and a Christian girl, facing opposition from their families against their union.” Story continues below this ad The court noted that the opposition from the respective families, in the film, was based on their own religious beliefs and ultimately, both the boy and the girl overcame the hurdle with the help of a well-wisher who acted as their “guardian” and convinced their families to move forward in their lives by setting aside their faiths. “The movie shows that religious leaders of both the communities also accept the above view and repent their earlier actions,” the order read. ‘Love jihad, conversion scene’ The love jihad scene, as the court held, cannot be considered as “supporting or negating the existence of the movement” the way it has been portrayed by the characters of the movie. On the heroine’s conversion scene in the movie, the court said, “There is nothing in the movie to show that the heroine was forced to undergo such a process.” Story continues below this ad Rejecting the contentions of the appellants, the court found it was only based on the viewpoint of a person having a “hypersensitive, intolerant, and blinkered mind”. ‘Burqa scene’ The court noted that the scene where the heroine, a Christian girl, was wearing Muslim attire and the hero is interrogated by police officers in the police station cannot be considered as “indecent, immoral, contemptuous, affecting public order or affecting the morale of the police force as such.” ‘Love has no religion’ The “ Haal ” movie’s representative, Advocate Joseph Kodiyanthra, submitted that a movie should be judged in its entirety from the point of view of its overall impact and through the eyes of an ordinary human being. He contended that the movie does not contain any visuals/words that are contemptuous of any religion or community. He also mentioned that the movie only “conveys the message that love has no religion and that the couples can move forward in their life, by keeping aside each of their religious tenets/culture.” Story continues below this ad On the contrary, the censor board’s advocate G Sreekumar contended that the modifications prescribed by the censor board were required to be adhered to and said, “those scenes are against public order, decency, and morality of the society and will not adhere to the contemporary.” Background The movie “Haal,” created under the banner “JVJ Productions,” was initially scheduled to release for Onam, but got delayed. The regional office of the CBFC informed the producer that the revising committee and the board have come to the conclusion that the film is not suitable for unrestricted public exhibition, but may be suitable for public exhibition restricted to adults after making deletions and modifications. The CBFC demanded the makers of the Shane Nigam-starrer to carry out six modifications or deletions of several dialogues and scenes, including one pertaining to beef biryani. The filmmakers subsequently moved the high court against the board’s stance which directed the censor board to issue fresh certification to the Malayalam film.
IndiaIndia
‘Film must be judged as a whole’: Kerala High Court upholds release of film ‘Haal’, rejects CBFC excision orders
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