Madras HC refuses TFAPA’s plea to ban film reviews for 3 days – Here is a timeline of events

On Tuesday, December 3, the Madras HC court, in response to the Tamil Film Active Producers Association's (TFAPA) plea seeking to ban film reviews online for three days after the release, refused to entertain the request. A written petition was filed with the court by TFAPA that reviews of a film, especially the negative ones should not be posed online or on social media within three days of release, citing that it might hamper the film's performances in theatres.

Madras HC refuses TFAPA plea on review ban- a timeline of events

It all started with the releases of films like Indian 2 and Kanguva, which were major star releases (featuring Kamal Haasan and Suriya respectively), this year. The film, even though made on a huge scale and had star names associated with the projects, failed to impress the audience and garnered negative reviews. Indian 2 and Kanguva became the subject of troll material on social media, which subsequently severely impacted the trade of box office. The unanimous negative and poor responses for these films were affected by the review culture among media, which cashes on getting the earliest responses from the audience who watch the first shows.

With Kanguva and Indian 2 not receiving favorable responses majorly, the trickle-down effect impacted the box office collections. To tackle this, TFAPA filed a petition with Madras HC seeking a ban on reviews on social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, X, and Facebook for three days from a film’s release. The producers’ association wanted the direction from state and central governments.

Also read: Indian 2: Misguided Attempt At A Spectacle, That Fails Spectacularly 

What did the court respond?

The Madras HC court cited that a review is a personal opinion of an individual and curbing that would mean revoking the freedom of expression right, as granted by the country’s laws. However, taking the concern of the producers, the Madras HC suggested that a police complaint can be filed if one’s opinions amount to spreading malicious and defaming comments. The court further ordered the governments to come up with regulations for film criticism.

It is to be noted that a while ago in November, the Tamil Nadu Producers Council issued a statement requesting theatre owners not to permit YouTube channels to record reviews from moviegoers, inside their premises.

Kanguva becomes latest victim to film reviews

Also read: Kanguva star's loss is Amaran actor's gain? How Sivakarthikeyan got the lead role in film meant for Suriya 

The events transpired after the recent release of the Suriya-starrer film Kanguva. The film opened to negative reviews and subsequently affected the box office collection. While the makers fear slander from audiences, many blame the unacceptance of filmmakers for accepting criticism on their films.

Film criticism and filmmaking are two sides of the same coin, which are interdependent for their sustenance. While a section of people feel that makers should take responsibility when their movies don’t do well with the audience and accept criticism, the film fraternity feels that sometimes reviews tend to become slanders and personal attacks, that do not come under the purview of film criticism and reviewing.