A scene from the film Sexy DurgaKochi: The Kerala High Court Friday declined to stay a single bench order to screen the controversial Malayalam film S Durga in the Panorama section of the ongoing International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa.
A division bench refused to stay the single judge order while admitting an appeal filed by the Center.
In the appeal, the government stated that the film though selected by the jury had not secured the exemption as required by the Panorama regulation in the absence of any certification from the Central Board of Film Certification.
It was also contended by the Center that inclusion of the film is likely to upset the arrangements of the 48th IFFI, which comes to a close on November 28.
Meanwhile, the filmmakers are planning to send the movie to the jury online.
Actor Kannan Nayar, who played the male lead in the film, on Friday said they would send the film to the jury along with a copy of Friday's HC order.
"Dear jury members please watch the movie again and you decide. Nothing is changed, only the name is cut, the content is there, the whole movie is there. There is no change at all. So you have to like our movie again," he said on the sidelines of the IFFI in Goa.
He said his attempt for a response from IFFI director Sumit Tandem on Friday's developments turned futile.
S Durga narrates the horrifying experience of a hitchhiking couple.
The director of the film Sanal Kumar Sasidharan moved the court after the film was dropped from the Indian Panorama section of the festival along with the Marathi film Nude.
According to the petitioner, the I&B ministry's decision to overrule the recommendation of the 13-member jury and pull out the two films was 'unconstitutional'.
Read more: Latest on IFFI | 'S Durga' maker writes to IFFI for screening date, actor says no response from officials
