Since the trailer’s release, ‘The Kerala Story’ has faced severe backlash. The film was released on May 5 and is doing decent in terms of box office collections. Still, the problems for ‘The Kerala Story’ is not getting over.
The Trinamool Congress government banned the film in West Bengal on May 8. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, “West Bengal govt has decided to ban the movie The Kerala Story. This is to avoid any incident of hatred and violence, and to maintain peace in the state”.
While taking a dig at ‘The Kashmir Files’, the Chief Minister stated, “What was ‘The Kashmir Files’? It was meant purely to humiliate a particular section of society. What is ‘The Kerala Story’? It is a distorted story”. The CM instructed the state chief secretary to withdraw the film from all theatres where it was playing.
The film’s producer, Vipul Amrutlal Shah, reacted to the ban and said they would seek legal recourse to challenge the State Government’s decision. Shah said, “If state government won’t listen to us, we will explore legal avenues. However, whatever course we take will be based on legal advice,”
West Bengal has become the first state to ban ‘The Kerala Story’, though the BJP-led Madhya Pradesh Government have announced to make it tax-free.
Backlash against The Kerala Story
Kerala’s ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF), and other Left and Islamic organisations spoke out against the release of ‘The Kerala Story’ in the state and called for a ban. The Kerala Congress spoke out against the film and told people to boycott it.
The film even faced legal action. On May 5, the Kerala High Court declined to pass any interim order on pleas against the release of the movie “The Kerala Story”.
Earlier, the Supreme Court refused to entertain an interlocutory application (IA) challenging the release of the movie on May 2. The court further observed that an IA is not an appropriate remedy to challenge the release of a movie.
Despite the backlash was reported that the movie had a decent Day 1 Box Office opening, where it collected around Rs 7.5 – 8 crore.
It is pertinent to note that the movie’s collections raked in a decent amount even though its screenings were cancelled, on the opening day, in several Kerala districts after protests against the movie.
The film has made around Rs 35.25 crore, and it is just the third day and is expected to make more in the coming days, as per the trade analysts.
‘The Kerala Story’, stars Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Sonia Balani, and Siddhi Idnani in the lead roles. The film is produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah and directed by Sudipto Sen.
In the film, actress Adah Sharma plays the role of Fathima Ba, a Hindu Malayali nurse who went missing from Kerala and was recruited by ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) after being forced to convert to Islam.
