The writ petition which sought to take down Churuli, director Lijo Jose Pellissery’s film, from the SonyLIV OTT platform was dismissed by the Kerala High Court on Thursday.
The petition, filed by a lawyer named Peggy Fen, alleged excessive use of abusive and obscene language in the film.
Churuli was released on SonyLIV on November 19. The fantasy mystery thriller, starring Chemban Vinod Jose, Vinay Forrt, and Joju George, is based on the short story Kaligeminarile Kuttavalikal by Vinoy Thomas. The film’s screenplay is written by S Hareesh, author of the popular novel Meesha.
Following the release of the film, Fen moved the HC alleging that there is “an overdose of foul language” in the film, which is “opposed to public morality and tranquillity.” The petition stated that the words and phrases used in the film “outrage the modesty of women and children, leaving the viewers irritated and distressed.”
During the initial hearing of the petition, a video clip from Churuli was played in the courtroom and Justice N Nagaresh had remarked that the dialogues were “atrocious.”
Fen further alleged that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has violated its own rules and regulations by approving the release of the film and such a release could even attract provisions of the Indian Penal Code. In response to this, the CBFC informed the court that an uncensored version of Churuli had premiered on the SonyLIV OTT platform.
Later, as per the court’s direction, the state police watched the film to see if there was any statutory violation. They provided the film a clean chit stating that the narrative and the situations in Churuli show that such a language is necessary for these characters.
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Following this, on January 31, the High Court had opined that Fen’s petition appeared to be merely a publicity litigation and no statutory provision was violated by releasing the film. The court also reserved judgement in the case at the same time.
Dismissing the case on Thursday, Justice Kunhikrishnan PV said, “Comments on a movie should be made after watching it.”
In his order, the judge also observed that most of the people who are making comments against the film have likely not seen it in full and have probably only watched certain clips being circulated on social media platforms. He further stressed that it is important to watch a creation before making comments against it.