Breaking | Madras High Court Dismisses Plea Challenging "A" Certificate Granted For Rajnikanth Starrer 'Coolie' Movie

The Madras High Court on Thursday (August 28) dismissed a plea challenging the 'A' certificate issued by the Central Board of Film Certification for the movie “Coolie” starring Rajnikanth, Nagarjuna, and Amir Khan, among others. Justice TV Thamilselvi while pronouncing the order said that the "petition does not have any merits".The high court passed the order on a petition moved by production company Sun TV Network. Sun Pictures, the production company of Sun TV as well as producers of the movie had applied for certification as per Rule 22 of the Cinematography (Certification) Rules 1983. After evaluation of the movie, the Examining Committee sent an email stating that the movie would be given an “A” certificate, provided certain cuts are made. The Revising Committee also granted an “A” certificate, stating that the movie portrayed extensive violence. Sun TV had argued that when compared to movies like KGF, Beast, and others, Coolie movie depicted less violence and was still given an 'A' certificate. The company stressed on the freedom of speech and expression and argued that the movie only portrayed violence, which was not per se prohibited under the Act. It was also argued that the movie showed incidents happening in the life of a coolie and if there were any violence, it was just part of the movie and not glorification. The Board, on the other hand, had argued that the movie makers, having accepted the 'A' certificate, could not file the present petition as an afterthought. It was submitted that the the decision to give an 'A' certificate was a unanimous decision taken by both the original committee and the revising committee since the movie portrayed frequent and extensive violence, strong threatening moments, gruesome killing, smoking, drinking, and characters using bad language occasionally. It was also submitted that while movie makers had the freedom to portray a coolie having his own mannerisms, it could not be viewed by children if the portrayal involved violence. Counsel for Petitioner: Senior Advocate J Ravindran Counsel for Respondents: ASG ARL Sundaresan Case Title: Sun TV Network Ltd v. Central Board of Film Certification Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Mad) 288 Case No: CMA 2441 of 2025Click Here To Read/Download The Judgment

Breaking | Madras High Court Dismisses Plea Challenging "A" Certificate Granted For Rajnikanth Starrer 'Coolie' Movie

Upasana Sajeev

Tags