Increasing violence in Malayalam films and need for proper certification

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By Arjun Ramachandran

Nov 07, 2024

Last year Rajinikanth’s Jailer and Vijay’s Leo earned over ₹50 crore from the Kerala box office, a rare feat for non-Malayalam films.

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While the movies were praised for their making, they were criticised for the excessive violence and gore, which made them non-palatable for family audiences, and young children.

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Even in Malayalam films, there has been a gradual increase in violent scenes. The issue came to the forefront once again with the controversy surrounding Joju George’s Pani (2024). 

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The actor-director allegedly threatened a research scholar as the latter wrote a negative review of Pani criticising the portrayal of the rape scene in it.

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According to Annu Mathew, a Kochi-based journalist, rape is often normalised in Indian films, including Malayalam movies.

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Mammootty-starrer Christopher (2023) too had rape scenes which are disturbing for the viewers. The movie however was rated U/A by the censor board.

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Similarly, Nalla Nilavulla Rathri (2023) also had a U/A certificate even though the movie had violent scenes, which were new to Malayalam cinema.

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Ela Veezha Pooncira (2022) and Jayasuriya’s John Luther (2022) also had gory scenes but got U/A certificates.

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Some of the films certified with U/A actually deserve an A certificate owing to the violent and sex scenes that don’t cater to younger children who watch films with their parents.

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