Two days ago, the Kerala High Court dismissed a petition to cancel the certification of a Malayalam film titled Eesho, being directed by actor-filmmaker Nadhirshah. The Christian Association for Social Action had sought the direction of the High Court to disallow certification of the movie since it is named Eesho - Malayalam for Jesus. The court, however, said that it cannot interfere in the certification of a film just because it is named after a god, reported Live Law.
The controversy over the film, with Jayasurya in the lead, began ever since its tagline was put in advertisements - "Not from the Bible." Some Christian organisations took offence at the film being named after Jesus and carrying this tagline.
Nadhirshah said that the tagline will be removed if it causes offence, but the title of the movie will remain as such. The New Indian Express quoted him as saying that the title and the first look poster of the film had come out three months ago but it was only after the poster of another new movie he was making was released that the controversy broke out. He has no intention of hurting religious sentiments and the film's story has no connection with Jesus Christ, Nadhirshah said.
The other film Nadhirshah is making has 'Keshu' in its title, and some groups alleged that the titles with 'Keshu' and 'Eesho' would hurt the religious sentiments of Christians. However, Nadhirshah said that 'Keshu' was just short for the title character Keshavan and has no connection with Jesus Christ.
Nadhirshah, who has worked as a comedian, singer, composer and actor for years, made his directorial debut in 2015 with Amar Akbar Anthony, starring Prithviraj, Indrajith and Jayasurya in the lead. That and his second film Kattappanayile Rithwik Roshan were both popular. Nadhirshah also composed music for both the films.