A poster of the film Manushi
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Hailing director Gopi Nainar’s Manushi, starring Andreah Jeremiah, as a “film that masterfully explores the dark underbelly of power,” the Madras High Court on Friday (August 29, 2025) directed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to issue it a censor certificate, after producer C. Vetri Maaran makes certain modifications and excisions suggested by the court.
Justice N. Anand Venkatesh arrived at the decision after watching the movie, along with the CBFC officials, at a private screening on August 24, 2025. He directed the producer to make the court-suggested modifications and excisions within two weeks and ordered the CBFC to issue the certificate, required for public screening in cinema theatres, within two weeks thereafter.
“Manushi is a poignant cinematic reflection on how ordinary lives can be torn apart when systemic prejudices and State machinery collide in moments of political suspicion. At its heart, the film narrates the story of a humble father and his young daughter, who find themselves ensnared in a police dragnet merely because they leased part of their modest property to three women — later branded as extremists,” the judge wrote.
Impressed by the storyline, the judge said: “What begins as a gesture of goodwill spirals into a nightmare, as layers of suspicion, ideological bias, and caste prejudice converge against innocent lives. The film masterfully explores the dark underbelly of power, exposing how the instruments of law and order, when driven by assumptions and pressure, can silence reason and trample upon justice.”
Commending its intense and philosophical dialogues, he said: “The film dares to open conversations about God and science, faith and ideology, language and identity, thereby probing the very foundations of how societies construct belief and justice. Through these debates, it compels viewers to look beyond official narratives and confront the deeper question: who pays the price when prejudice is legitimised by power?”
Disposing of a writ petition filed by Mr. Maaran against as many as 25 cuts and 12 modifications insisted by the CBFC, the judge also said: “Manushi is not merely a critique of institutions — it is a story of human endurance. The father and daughter’s suffering, painted with sensitivity and restraint, transforms the film into a mirror where viewers cannot escape questioning their own complacency amidst systemic injustices.”
He went on to state: “With its layered storytelling, charged performances, and unflinching gaze at truth, Manushi resonates as both a social critique and a human story. It is more than a film — it is an urgent reminder that justice, when compromised by ideology and prejudice, destroys not only individuals, but the very soul of society.”
While dealing with each of the 37 changes that the CBFC had insisted for film certification, the judge upheld the need to make a few of those changes, rejected the insistence on making certain cuts and suggested some modifications too. He said, the extremist ideology need not be referred to with the term ‘communist’ in the movie and that it could be replaced with terms such as ‘extremist, naxalite or maoist.’
He held no excision of dialogues related to caste discrimination was required since they were in sync with the object of the movie but ordered the removal of the dialogue: “Those who created castes were the ones who created India.” Justice Venkatesh also ordered the modification of scenes and excision of dialogues in which women police personnel had been portrayed in a poor light.
Published – August 29, 2025 12:05 pm IST
