Case in Madras High Court against song in actor Santhanam’s movie DD Next Level

A poster of Devil’s Double Next Level
| Photo Credit: X/@iamsanthanam

The Madras High Court on Thursday (May 15, 2025) wanted to know whether the producers of actor Santhanam’s upcoming movie Devil’s Double Next Levelwould be willing to delete or mute an objectionable portion of the lyrics and tune in the film’s song titled ‘Kissa 47’.

A summer vacation Bench of Justices G.R. Swaminathan and V. Lakshminarayanan directed advocate Vijayan Subramanian to obtain instructions from the producers by Thursday, as the movie was slated to be released in theatres on Friday (May 16, 2025). 

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The time was granted during the hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) petition, which sought a direction to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to revoke the censor certificate until the producers delete the song ‘Kissa 47’, which reportedly had objectionable references to the phrase ‘Govinda, Govinda.’

Later in the day, Mr. Subramanian returned to state that the producers had decided to mute the objectionable tune and delete certain lyrics. After recording his submissions, the judge adjourned the hearing to Friday for senior counsel Sricharan Rangarajan, representing the PIL petitioner, to verify the statement.

What did the PIL plea say?

In his affidavit, the petitioner, M.G.D. Balaji, 49, an advocate from Old Washermanpet in Chennai, stated that he is a devout Hindu and a follower of the Vaishnava tradition. He said he recently came across a YouTube video of a press meet for actor Santhanam’s upcoming movie, popularly known as DD Next Level, which is scheduled to be released in theatres on Friday.

Subsequently, he heard one of the songs of the movie and found that the lyrics had been borrowed from a popular devotional hymn titled ‘Srinivasa Govinda, Srivenkatesa Govinda’, sung in praise of Lord Venkateswara, the presiding deity of the Tirumala Tirupati Temple. He complained that the tune of the hymn had been used in a “very strange and inappropriate context” in the song.

Stating it had hurt his religious feelings, the petitioner said, the word ‘Govinda’ too had been used in a demeaning manner in the song. He also expressed surprise over the CBFC having issued a U/A certificate for the movie without insisting on deleting the song with such objectionable references.