Sorry, You Can’t Ban Movie Reviews!

The Madras High Court on Tuesday refused to accept the writ petition filed by the Tamil Film Active Producers Association (TFAPA) against the ban on movie reviews for three days. The producers’s association recently moved the High Court seeking a ban on movie reviews on social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and X for three days from release.

Apart from the ban on movie reviews, the producers also sought a direction to the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as well as the Information Technology and Digital Services department of the Tamil Nadu government to frame guidelines for online film critics. However, the HC bench led by Justice S. Sounthar has refused the writ petition in today’s hearing.

TFAPA’s writ petition is a move to control the social media menace and targeted trolling whenever a big film hits theaters. It’s worth mentioning that Suriya’s wife, Jyothika, had issued an open letter stating that the criticism against Kanguva was part of a propaganda. On the other hand, G. Dhananjeyan, one of the producers of Kanguva, had alleged that the movie was deliberately targeted by the fans of two Tamil stars.

However, TFAPA’s attempt to restrain critics’ reviews has been receiving immense backlash, with many calling it suppression of freedom of speech. Netizens are advising the producers to make good movies that can withstand trolling and negativity, which is a regular phenomenon whenever a big hero’s movie releases.