HC asks Censor Board to take decision on 'Vyuham'

[Anta Assamey]

The Telangana High Court on Monday asked the Censor Board to take a decision before February 9 on well-known filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma's "Vyuham", which has triggered a controversy.

The court directed the Revising Committee to once again review the movie and submit its report to the court before February 9.

The matter came up for hearing before a division bench on Monday and both the sides presented their arguments before it.

A single judge bench had earlier asked the Censor Board to take a decision on issuing a new censor certificate within three weeks.

On January 22, the court had extended the suspension of the censor certificate for the political thriller by three weeks. The judge has directed the Revising Committee of the Censor Board to once again review the movie and delete objectionable scenes.

The order came on a petition by producer Dasari Kiran Kumar, who pleaded for vacating the interim order suspending release of the movie in theatres.

The film, which is allegedly defamatory towards TDP President and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was originally scheduled to release on December 29, 2023.

Naidu’s son and TDP General Secretary Nara Lokesh had approached the High Court, challenging the censor certificate for the movie. On December 28, the High Court suspended the release on the ground that the Revising Committee failed to state reasons for granting a Certificate of Exhibition when initially the application had been rejected, noting a series of irregularities.

The court observed that the Revising Committee granted the certificate though no major deletions or the changes were made. The film is said to be about the conditions surrounding the passing of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and the political entry of his son Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who is now the Chief Minister.

Lokesh, in his petition, challenged the certificate for theatrical release of the movie alleging attempts to spoil the image of Chandrababu Naidu in the controversial movie.