Censor Board's ideological cuts on 'Haal', 'Private' spark censorship fears in Malayalam cinema

Months after the massive uproar over Mohanlal-starrer Empuraan and Suresh Gopi’s Janaki v State of Kerala, the Kerala office of the Central Board of Film Certification has once again found itself caught up in a controversy – this time over the films Haal and Private.

Haal shamed for beef biriyani, RSS phrases

Haal, starring Shane Nigam and Private, featuring Indrans and Meenakshi, are in the crosshairs of critics, sparking renewed concern in the film community over what many see as creeping ideological censorship.

The censor board has demanded cuts in Haal, primarily for a beef-eating scene, and in Private over allegedly “far-left” content.

Watch: Is cinema losing its freedom? Empuraan controversy riles Kerala

In Haal, the CBFC’s Revising Committee has reportedly flagged 15 scenes or dialogues as “objectionable,” demanding deletion or alteration before certification.

Among the most controversial demands is the removal of a scene in which characters reportedly eat beef biryani, a staple in many parts of Kerala but sensitive in the current political climate.

The board has also instructed the filmmakers to blur images related to right-wing groups, particularly the RSS and the BJP, remove references to phrases such as “Dhwaja Pranam” (a ritual performed at RSS shakhas), “Ganapati Vattam” (a name the right wing suggested to erase Tipu Sultan’s memory in Sultan’s Bathery), and “Sangham Kavalund” (a slogan used by the RSS during the Sabarimala protests), delete or mute dialogues referring to “internal enemies” (echoing MS Golwalkar’s famous dictum), and blur names of institutions such as “Holy Angels College of Nursing.”

Makers move court

What has stunned the industry is that, beyond excisions of “sensitive” elements, the CBFC is also demanding that producers obtain written consent from the Catholic Bishop’s House for depictions of a bishop and alter scenes that portray the police or state authorities negatively. In effect, the board is treating creative portrayal as subject to theological and institutional oversight.

The CBFC has asserted that without these changes, the film is “not suitable for unrestricted public exhibition,” and can at best be certified for adults only “with modifications.” In response, the makers of the film have approached the Kerala High Court, challenging the CBFC’s directive as arbitrary, overreaching, and injurious to freedom of expression. The court has sought a response from the Union government before adjourning further hearings to October 14.

Also read: JSK movie row: If Ram Lakhan is fine, why not Janaki? Kerala HC asks censor board

“We have immense faith in the judicial system. Let them examine the content and make a decision; then the public can understand what it was all about. For me, beef is not cow meat, it is buffalo meat. I’m a good cook, and I don’t cook or eat cow meat, not due to religious teachings but because cows are, to me, gentle, homely animals. I also don’t eat rabbit for the same reason,” explained Veera, the director of Haal.

Private gets 9 cuts

Similarly, the film Private got released in theatres recently only after undergoing at least nine modifications. The film’s initial release, planned for August 1, was delayed due to strict interventions by the CBFC. The board suggested some puzzling changes. Words and references such as “Citizenship Bill,” “Hindi-speaking people,” “Bihar,” and “Ramrajya” have been removed from the film before it reached theatres. Additionally, the board instructed that a mask showing the name of a particular organisation, “RNS,” (rhyming with RSS) be blurred.

According to the makers of the film, the CBFC demanded the tweaks to many scenes in Private, accusing the film of promoting anti-state or anti-nationalist themes. The demanded cuts and the invocation of “far-left” as grounds of censorial objection signals an expansion of the censor’s purview from religious or moral sensibilities to ideological policing.

However, the regional officer of the CBFC declined to comment, stating that the matter is sub judice. “The case is sub judice; hence, no comments. The committee examines films according to the guidelines issued under the Cinematograph Act, 1952,” replied Nadeem Thufail T, Regional Officer, when The Federal reached out to him via WhatsApp.

Also read: Light, camera, cut! When these Tamil films came under state lens

Empuraan effect

It was only recently that L2: Empuraan, helmed by actor-director Prithviraj, faced backlash from right-wing groups for its critical portrayal of Sangh Parivar and the 2002 Gujarat riots. The makers were forced to make a string of voluntary cuts post-release after political pressure.

Later, the film Janaki vs State of Kerala, starring Union Minister and BJP leader Suresh Gopi in the lead, faced censorship due to its use of the name “Janaki,” which is also another name for Sita. It got cleared for release after the court’s intervention following some tweaks.

Also read: Facing right wing fury, 'Empuraan' undergoes 24 cuts; villain's name also changed

“After the Empuraan controversy, things have really shifted,” said a Malayalam actor who “did not want to be caught in the crossfire”. “The film was cleared by the CBFC, but still had to face edits once the backlash began. Now it feels like every new film is being watched through the right-wing ideological lens. Even something as ordinary as what a character eats or says is seen as a statement. Earlier, censorship was about violence or vulgarity. Now it’s about belief, what kind of faith, politics, or idea of the nation you show on screen,” added the actor.

Impartial regulator or ideological gatekeeper?

With Haal, interfaith romance has become subject to such sweeping deletion orders. Some see in it a pattern: they say the CBFC is no longer acting as an impartial regulator, but as an ideological gatekeeper aligned with the right-wing political narrative. When the regulatory apparatus begins to regulate not just explicit transgression but the imagination itself it, according to filmmakers and movie buffs, it signals a shrinking horizon for art.

Also read: How honouring Mohanlal, Shah Rukh Khan seeks to restore faith in the National Awards

“It must be understood that the Sangh Parivar is beginning to implement its agenda openly in Kerala as well. Being a business involving crores of investment, filmmakers are aware that there are limits to any form of protest and that gradually they will yield to these pressures. Slowly, filmmakers and the industry will be compelled to include only content that pleases, causing no discomfort, challenging neither the Sangh Parivar nor the anti-people, undemocratic policies of governments. Gradually, this will become a habit. But it must not be allowed to happen” opines Harshad, noted Malayalam script writer.

Furthermore, this wave of censorship demands in Kerala mirrors broader trends of right-wing cultural assertion across India and the imposition of ideological litmus tests at the regional level, suggesting an encroachment into cultural autonomy in the South.

Watch: Is cinema losing its freedom? Empuraan controversy riles Kerala

In many ways, the film fraternity, with very few exceptions, considers the Empuraan cuts to be the opening salvo. Now, Haal and Private are test cases of how deep the censorship logic wants to go.