The Kerala Story is no longer being shown in Tamil Nadu’s multiplex theatres as of today, blaming the law and order situation and the film’s underwhelming reviews.
‘The Kerala Story’ was released in Chennai on Saturday, and the Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) in Tamil Nadu protested this. The Naam Tamilar Party cadres, led by its organiser, actor and director Seeman, began protests against the film in Chennai’s Anna Nagar Arch neighbourhood next to Skywalk Mall.
Following Seeman’s appeal for demonstration, NTK members demonstrated inside the theatre against the showing of The Kerala Story before being arrested by police.
Party members were yelling anti-movie slogans while brandishing the Naam Thamizhar Katchi banner. The Kerala Story was not to be shown in theatres, and Seeman pleaded with viewers to stay away from the movie.
Seeman had previously urged that the governments of Puducherry and Tamil Nadu forbid the airing of The Kerala Story on the grounds that it is anti-Muslim.
The Kerala Story’s teaser, which implied that 32,000 local females vanished and later joined the terrorist organisation ISIS, sparked a debate. The Kerala High Court, however, declined on Friday to block the distribution of the multilingual movie “The Kerala Story,” stating that the trailer does not contain any material that would offend any particular group of people as a whole.
The film’s producer gave the Kerala High Court their word that they wouldn’t post the contentious trailer again on their social media accounts.
The film “The Kerala Story,” starring Adah Sharma, was launched in theatres on Friday. It claims to “unearth” the circumstances behind “approximately 32,000 women” who are said to have gone missing from Kerala.
The CPI(M) and the Congress in Kerala argue that the movie makes bogus claims about 32,000 women who were radicalised, converted, and sent on terror missions in India and other countries. In a recent remark, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan claimed that the film was purposefully designed to incite animosity and polarisation among communities and to disparage Kerala.
The Kerala Story performances were cancelled in various Keralan districts on the day of their debut. Two of the earlier listed shows in Kochi were cancelled. Kochi movie theatre operators at Lulu Mall and Centre Square Mall also abstained from the film. Similar decisions were made by movie theatres in the Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki, Kannur, and Wayanad districts not to show the film.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, announced on Saturday that the state would grant “The Kerala Story” tax-free status, a day after prime minister Narendra Modi credited the film with exposing terror conspiracies and used it to criticise the Congress at a rally in Karnataka.
