“How is your petitioner (Lokesh) qualified to file a petition on behalf of the party?.. No speeches or rhetoric, please… Speak on the facts of the subject… Asking for more time is nothing but wasting court’s time…” 

This was how a division bench of the Telangana High Court reacted furiously on Thursday while hearing petitions related to the screening of Telugu film Vyuham. The film directed by Ram Gopal Varma was supposed to have been released in theatres on December 29, 2023 but was stalled by the court through an interim order due to the objections raised against it.  

The angry response of the high court is being viewed as a major jolt to Nara Lokesh, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and others in their desperate attempts to scuttle the release of the film. While hearing the arguments on the matter, the division bench expressed its displeasure with the petitioner’s counsel. It felt that seeking more time during arguments is nothing but wasting the court’s precious time. 

In another stinging remark, the division bench questioned as to how Nara Lokesh is qualified to file the writ petition representing the TDP. The dressing-down from the court did not stop at that. The judges sitting on the bench bluntly told Lokesh’s advocates to not indulge in speeches and rhetoric and directed them to come straight to the facts related to the subject. 

After hearing arguments from both the sides, the high court division bench reserved its verdict which will be pronounced at a later date. 

TDP fears Vyuham will inflict political damage  

Lokesh approached the Telangana High Court with his writ petition on December 22, 2023 challenging the censor certificate issued for Vyuham screening. He also lodged a complaint to this effect with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) asking it to revoke the film’s censor certificate. In the meantime, the high court in an interim direction has asked the producer to hold back the film’s release. 

Subsequently, in January this year, a single judge of the high court quashed the censor certificate and remitted the matter back to the CBFC’s regional office in Hyderabad and the Board’s revising committee for a reassessment. In a following development, the CBFC reviewed the film and issued a ‘U’ certificate to it. 

A strong lobby including the pro-TDP media campaigned vigorously against the release of the film, produced by Dasari Kiran Kumar’s Ramadhuta Creations. The movie, with political resemblances, had sent shivers down the spine for TDP chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu and his partymen as they feared considerable damage to their interests if it is released. They were also apprehensive that the film would unveil some of the dark secrets of the recent past to the public.