In West Bengal, 'The Kerala Story' has been banned by Mamata Banerjee.

DailyStar || Shining BD

Published: 5/9/2023 4:23:03 AM

Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, announced a ban on "The Kerala Story," directed by Sudipto Sen, on Monday. Since the trailer for the movie was released, it has become the subject of controversy. It was criticized for the trailer's assertion that 32,000 girls from Kerala had vanished and joined the terrorist organization ISIS.


 

Mamata Banerjee was quoted by ANI as saying, "The West Bengal government has decided to forbid 'The Kerala Story'." This will prevent any acts of hatred and violence and keep the state's peace.

"What is 'The Kashmir Files'?" she continued. In order to degrade a certain group. The Kerala story: What is it?... It is a twisted tale.

Vipul Shah, the film's producer, declared after the choice had been made, "If that is what she has done, we will take legal action. We will fight to the fullest extent permitted by the law.

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"The Kerala Story" was recently yanked from Tamil Nadu theaters. The decision was confirmed by M Subramaniam, President of the Tamil Nadu Theatre and Multiplex Owners Association, who told the media, "The film was only shown in a few multiplexes owned by pan-India groups, mostly PVR. Since the movie lacked any well-known actors, locally owned multiplexes had already made the decision not to screen it. For instance, there have already been two performances in Coimbatore, one on Friday and one on Saturday. Even they had poor results. Theaters decided that it was not worthwhile to deal with the threat of protests and other things because of this.

"The Kerala Story" stars Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Siddhi Idnani and Sonia Balani in the lead roles. Helmed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, the film triggered political disputes, with many calling it 'a propaganda film'.

Earlier, the Kerala High Court had noted that the producers had published a disclaimer along with the movie, which specifically states that the film is fictional and is a dramatised version of actual events. The same court also mentioned that "The Kerala Story" does not claim to be accurate or factual about historic events.

While many were seeking a ban on the film, the High Court refused to issue a stay order on the release of the film. "The Kerala Story" has already collected Rs 16 crore at the domestic box office on the third day of its release. This takes their total earning to over Rs 35 since its release on May 5.

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