As an elated Kannan Nair, who plays the male lead character of the film, announced the news at Kala Academy, the delegates who were present there erupted into loud rounds of applause.Panaji: The Kerala High Court's order clearing decks for the screening of Malayalam film S Durga (originally titled Sexy Durga) at the 48th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) going on here was welcomed with cheers by the delegates on Tuesday.
As an elated Kannan Nair, who plays the male lead character of the film, announced the news at Kala Academy, the delegates who were present there erupted into loud rounds of applause. Delegates from various parts of the country congratulated the actor.
Later, Kannan told Onmanorama that he, along with the entire crew behind the film, was so happy about the verdict. He said they were expecting a favorable verdict as they believed that they were on the right side. He said the verdict strengthens his belief in judiciary.
He expressed hope that the IFFI organizers would comply with the order and make space for the film's screening.
Some of the delegates also echoed the happiness. "I have been waiting to watch the film for long. Though I wanted to go to its premiere in Thiruvananthapuram, I could not. Now I will make it a point to attend the screening here," Abhijith, a post-graduation student from Ernakulam, told Onmanorama.
Kannan Nair expressed hope that the IFFI organizers would comply with the order and make space for the film's screening. Photo: RageshActor-photographer Arun Punaloor, who is attending his sixth IFFI on a row, also said the verdict makes film lovers across the country happy.
Officials yet to react
However, the organizers of the IFFI have yet to respond to the verdict. A highly placed source with the Indian Panorama jury told Onmanorama that the organizers may try to buy time in order to make the filmmakers wait as long as possible.
The person said nine of the 11 members of the jury were in favor of screening the movie.
The Kerala High Court on Tuesday overruled the Information and Broadcasting Ministry decision to drop Sexy Durga from the list submitted by IFFI jury members. The court also directed the organizers of IFFI to include Sanal Kumar Sasidharan's film in the Indian Panorama of the festival.
Sanal Kumar had moved the court after his film was dropped from the festival. Three jury members - chairperson Sujoy Ghosh, director Gyan Correa, and writer Apurva Asrani, had earlier resigned from the jury to protest I&B Ministry decision.
The HC also observed that the CBFC-certified version of the film was entitled to be screened at the festival.
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