Malayalam films that caused a stir due to its titles ahead of Janaki v/s State of Kerala
This is not the first time a Malayalam movie has run into legal troubles because of its title. Let's look at the other films which encountered the same issue.
Last Updated: 05.23 PM, Jul 02, 2025
The upcoming movie Janaki v/s State of Kerala, starring Suresh Gopi, is in the news due to legal issues with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The board has directed the makers to alter the title and the name of the main character, Janaki, since it alludes to a Hindu goddess. For this reason, its theatrical release has been temporarily halted, which has caused a lot of problems, including a strike against CBFC by film associations like FEFKA and AMMA.
But this is not the first time a Malayalam movie has run into legal troubles because of its title. Let's look at the other films which encountered the same issue.
Malayalam films that landed in trouble due to its titles and names
S Durga
Despite being presented at multiple film festivals and receiving praise for both its plot and performances, this highly regarded movie had to deal with legal issues because of its title, which also has a Hindu goddess associated with it. To prevent more problems, it was subsequently renamed S Durga from Sexy Durga.
Higuita
The title of this Suraj Venjaramoodu-starrer was similar to the short story titled Higuita by famous author N S Madhavan that it caused a legal uproar. The director of the movie subsequently acknowledged that there was absolutely no resemblance between the short story and the script. Eventually, the issues were sorted out. In the meantime, the film was released under the same title and debuted digitally on Saina Play.
Oru Bharatha Sarkar Ulppanam
The censor board ordered the producers of this social drama to change the title by dropping the term "Bharatha." Director T V Renjith told OTTplay that although the board gave the movie a clean certificate following the preview, they were instructed to remove the trailer right away and make this change. For the film's theatrical release, they made the changes right away.
Token Number
Following the controversy surrounding JSK, filmmaker Padmakumar discussed a problem he encountered with his film Token Number. He disclosed that its release was denied by the board's Mumbai division unless he renamed one of the main characters, Janaki.
Corona Dhavan
Corona Jawan was the original title of the Lukman Avaran film, but it was later altered in response to a Central Board of Film Certification ruling. The board noted that because Jawan is an alcohol brand in Kerala, the title had to be taken out of the movie.