A press conference in Delhi on Monday for the upcoming film The Kerala Story 2 saw a heated exchange between the filmmakers and members of the media. The event, organised to promote the sequel, quickly turned contentious when journalists accused the makers of “insulting” Kerala with their new film, and questioned them about the absence of “Malayali victims” on the stage. The film is due for release on February 27, and the filmmakers were in the capital city to introduce their work and clarify its intentions.
Producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah and director Kamakhya Narayan Singh were present at the event, where they introduced 30 women whom they claimed had allegedly experienced forced religious conversions. Their aim was to highlight the issue the film explores, but the interaction with journalists soon became confrontational. Journalists pressed the filmmakers on the narrative choices, especially focusing on the lack of any Malayali women among those brought to the press event.
The filmmakers explained that the women present were from various regions including Bengal, Bihar, Bhilwara, Gangapur, Rajkot, Udaipur, Jammu, Maharashtra, Bhopal, Jharkhand, Faridabad, Meerut, Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, and Indore. When asked why none were from Kerala, Vipul said, “We brought those who suffered from Kerala after Kerala Story 1. The video is still available on YouTube.”
Addressing further enquiries, another spokesperson added, “Had we brought them again, you would have said we brought the same people. You can’t argue both sides.”
When asked about how the sequel differs from the first film, director Kamakhya Narayan Singh responded, “No, it’s the same story. This is a pan-India story.” He also insisted that the film was not politically motivated and was unrelated to the Kerala elections. Vipul, echoing the same stance, remarked, “Aapko isko masala dena hai, aap dijiye please. (You add spice to it if you want).”
Why Kerala?
The title of the film was also a matter of debate. Journalists questioned why the film retained the name Kerala if, as the makers claimed, the issue extended across the country. The director explained, “No, it’s related to Kerala also. And from Kerala, how it is all over India. The first time we made this story, people said this is only Kerala’s story. We now want to show that this happens across the country, not just Kerala.”
The conversation escalated when a reporter asserted that Kerala is “number one in education” and accused the filmmakers of tarnishing the state’s image. Vipul replied firmly, “Let me ask you a straight and simple question. On the floor of assembly, the then CM had put a report. If you are going to be blind towards the problem in your state, which is a wonderful state. You are destroying the state; you are responsible. Not us. You don’t want to accept there’s a problem.”
The filmmakers did not respond directly to criticisms from Anurag Kashyap and Prakash Raj at the press event. Instead, Vipul questioned whether those criticising the film had shown sensitivity towards the women presented as victims. Despite the tense exchanges, the filmmakers reiterated that the intention of The Kerala Story 2 is to highlight what they describe as a wider national issue rather than focus on a particular state.
