Audiences can no longer rate or review Jailer 2 on BookMyShow. The film's page on the ticketing platform carries the line "Ratings & Reviews disabled as per court order", a day after the Rajinikanth film opened on October 15.
What has been reported so far
Reports suggest the makers have started legal measures against what they call malicious and orchestrated negative reviews, and that Sun Pictures has also warned of legal action against content it considers malicious. These claims have not been independently confirmed through a publicly available court order or an official statement from the production house.
Sun Pictures has not posted about the reviews on its official X handle. Its posts since release describe the film as a "Mega Blockbuster" and speak of "positive reviews". Separately, the Madras High Court granted Sun TV Network an interim injunction against unauthorised online exhibition of the film before its release, according to both outlets.
BookMyShow has done this before. Ratings and reviews were reportedly blocked under court orders this year for films including Toxic and the Hindi film O'Romeo, and the platform has said it complies with all applicable laws and court orders.
Kerala has been here before
For Malayalam cinema, the fight over online reviews is an old one. In 2023, Mubeen Rauf, the director of Aromalinte Adyathe Pranayam, moved the Kerala High Court seeking to stop vloggers from reviewing his film for seven days after release. Justice Devan Ramachandran did not order such a ban. Instead, he asked the State Police Chief to draft protocols that separate honest reviews from "motivated and calculated" ones meant to extort or blackmail.
The same month, Kochi City Police registered what was reported as Kerala's first review-bombing case. Ubaini Ebrahim, director of Raahel Makan Kora, had complained about negative posts on social media. The FIR named nine accused, including YouTube and Facebook. The police later submitted a protocol to the court for handling such complaints.
The debate came up again this week. Khalifa director Vysakh reshared a fan's note that blamed review bombing, in part, for the Prithviraj Sukumaran film's box office run. Vysakh did not add a comment of his own.
Why this matters for Jailer 2 in Kerala
Kerala is a big market for the film. It opened on a record 800 screens in the state, and its Malayali cast includes Mohanlal and Suraj Venjaramoodu. The critics' response has been mixed, as our review roundup shows. With audience ratings switched off, viewers on the platform now have less to go on, and the Kerala court has already said that bona fide reviews must be protected.
