Adah Sharma starrer film, The Kerala Story, based on the mass religious conversion of non-Muslim women and their induction into ISIS continues to roar in the Box Office collections. On day 2 of the release, the film collected a whooping sum of Rs 12.50 Crores.
The film hit theatres on May 5 and made a glittering Rs 8.03 crore on its opening day exceeding all expectations. The Kerala Story has emerged as the 5th highest-opening Hindi film of 2023. As per the early trends, Adah Sharma starrer minted Rs 12.50 crore on day 2 at the domestic box office. Currently, the total collection stands at Rs 20.53 crore.
The plot of the movie is inspired by real-life incidents and revolves around the mass religious conversion of as many as 32,000 non-muslim women from the state of Kerala. The film throws light on, how these women were groomed and forced into the path of Islam, later these innocent minds are transported across the border and inducted into the vicious terror group ISIS.
Ever since the teaser of the film was dropped by the makers, the film has made quite a controversy, there have been a number of pleas against the release of the film in the state High Court and even at the apex court. However, the Kerala High Court find the movie suitable for public display and hence it was released on May 5.
Notably, after the release of the film the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan declared the movie tax-free. Madhya Pradesh has become the first state to do so, following the release of the much-awaited film.
Chouhan said, “The film The Kerala Story exposes the conspiracy of love jihad, conversion and terrorism and brings out its ugly face. This film tells how the daughters who get entangled in the web of love jihad due to sentimentality are destroyed. This film also exposes the design of terrorism and makes us aware of terror activities,” stated the BJP stalwart.
“In Madhya Pradesh, we have already enacted a law against religious conversion. Everyone should watch this film, parents should also watch it, children should also watch it, daughters should also watch it and therefore Madhya Pradesh government is making this film tax-free,” he added.
After the pleas were submitted to the courts, the Kerala High Court found the number 32,000 as unpromising and asked the makers to remove the part from the film, but approved the rest of it.
Liberals and the left have left no stone unturned in defaming the makers and the film in general. They called it s ‘propaganda film’.
Responding to people calling The Kerala Story a propaganda film, the lead actress of the film posted a tweet in which she requested those people to Google ‘ISIS’ and ‘brides’ to get an account of what white girls had to suffer while in captivity by the Islamic State, stating that their ordeal might make them believe their story is real.
And for the the few still calling #TheKeralaStory a propaganda film ,saying these incidents do not exist even after watching testimonials of several Indian victims,,,my humble request , Google two words ISIS and Brides…maybe an account of white girls narrated to you might make… pic.twitter.com/qYBp3B3owQ
— Adah Sharma (@adah_sharma) May 6, 2023
Adah posted, “And for the few still calling #TheKeralaStory a propaganda film ,saying these incidents do not exist even after watching testimonials of several Indian victims,,,my humble request , Google two words ISIS and Brides…maybe an account of white girls narrated to you might make you feel that our Indian movie is real”
Notably, on day one of the film there were massive protests in the state against the release of the film. The attackers vandalised the theatres, tore the posters to register their anger against the makers.
It is pertinent to mention that while arresting the plea against the film, calling for a total ban the Kerala High Court Justice Nagaresh said, “There are umpteen number of movies where Hindu Sanyasis are depicted as smugglers or rapists. Nobody protests. You must have seen many such Hindi films. In Malayalam also there are such movies”.
Ours is a democracy with secularism embedded in it, Justice Nagaresh said. “This is not the first time that a movie depicts a religious sect in a bad light. There are various movies that depict various religious sects in bad light”, Justice Nagaresh said.
