The producer and director of Malayalam feature film 'S Durga' have moved the Kerala High Court challenging the suspension of the certification of the movie by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
In their petition, producer Shaji Mathew and director Sanal Kumar Sasidharan said they were "deeply aggrieved with the illegal, arbitrary, high-handed and malafide manner" in which the CBFC certification of film has been suspended on November 28.
They submitted that the order was issued without power and jurisdiction and without hearing the petitioners resulting in glaring breach of the principles of natural justice.
The petitioners alleged that the suspension order was passed solely with malicious intention of thwarting the exhibition of the film in the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) held at Goa.
The Censor Board on November 28 had ordered a re- examination of the controversial film, derailing its court-ordered screening at the IFFI.
A screening of the censored version of the film was held for the jury on November 27 in Panaji and in a letter dated November 28, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) wrote to the producers asking them to resubmit the movie, which was earlier given a U/A certificate.
The producer and the director have claimed that it was an independent art film, which deals with paradoxical patriarchal tendency to objectify women.
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