Ever since the trailer of the film The Kerala Story 2 was released, the film has been mired in controversy over its depiction of forced religious conversions in the state. On Friday, the Kerala High Court lifted the stay on the release of The Kerala Story 2. Now, as per the latest update on news agency ANI, the scheduled screening of the film in Kannur was cancelled on Saturday following a protest by activists of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI).
Screening halted
The report states that the demonstration began when DYFI activists, led by DYFI Thissur District Committee Secretary K S Russal Raj, marched to the Thrissur Fun Movies theatre, pouring charcoal on posters of ‘The Kerala Story 2’ in a symbolic act of protest. It saw the tearing and burning of movie posters outside theatres, leading to clashes and forcing organisers to refund ticket holders.
The march was part of a wider campaign by the organisation against the film, which follows the lives of three young women who, according to the movie, fall into deceptive marriages and face alleged forced religious conversions.
As a result of the protest, the screening was abandoned due to a lack of audience, with theatre management initiating refunds and confirming no live screenings would take place inside the mall. Similar cancellations have also been reported at Cinepolis in Mall of Travancore, Thiruvananthapuram, where rescheduled screenings were halted in the wake of protests.
The Kerala Story 2 cleared for releas
The Kerala Story 2 explores forced religious conversions across various parts of India. The makers say that, like the first part, the film is based on true cases. The first film, released in 2023, also battled legal cases and calls for a ban over allegations of creating a communal divide.
The Kerala Story 2 was set to release on Friday. On Friday evening, a division bench of justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and P V Balakrishnan stayed a single judge’s order that had put the film’s screening on hold for 15 days. The bench passed the interim order on an appeal moved by Shah late Thursday night, shortly after the stay on the movie’s release was granted.
Addressing a press conference after the verdict, Vipul Shah, who has co-written and produced the film under his banner Sunshine Pictures, reiterated that the film is not against Kerala. “Neither our film, nor I, nor my crew members are against the state of Kerala, it’s God’s own country. It’s a beautiful and wonderful state, but if something wrong is happening over there, then I’m just bringing it to people’s notice. Once you watch the film, you will see that we’ve not said anything negative about Kerala or the people of Kerala,” he said.
(via inputs from ANI)
