In a recent press conference organized in Kolkata, Vipul Amrutlal Shah, the producer of the film ‘The Kerala Story’ has alleged that the West Bengal police and administration have imposed an illegal ban on the film despite the Supreme Court stayed the ban. Shah said that he is “absolutely shocked” even after the Supreme Court’s judgment there is an illegal ban imposed in West Bengal theatres adding that theatre owners are getting threats.
“The theatre owners are getting threats from the police and the administration that if they open the booking station, the theatres will not be safe. Theatre owners are not able to run the film,” Shah said.
Shah added that the theatre owners are so scared that they are not able to come out and issue any statement to this effect. Shah further claimed that the theatre owners want to show the film but are not allowed to do so.
“Theatres owners are getting threatening calls not to showcase the film, and I find it very objectionable because once the honourable Supreme Court passed the judgement it is incumbent for everybody to follow that order in its totality. We are complying with what we have been directed to do. I’m surprised that the Supreme Court order is not being followed in West Bengal. This is a serious matter.
The Kerala Story producer also stated that if the illegal ban on the film in the state is not lifted, he will move Supreme Court again as it is people’s right to watch the film and the apex court has given it.
Moreover, he said that the Supreme Court has directed the police to provide security to the moviegoers even after this if the security is not being provided then it is a serious situation prevailing in the country.
“I am shocked at the people who claim to be the champions of democracy. Both the states are behaving in an undemocratic way and it’s shameful to stop the film’s screening after a Supreme Court order,” Shah added.
It is notable that on 8th May 2023, the Supreme Court intervened and halted the ban imposed by the West Bengal government on the screening of the film ‘The Kerala Story’. The movie is continuing its dream run elsewhere as it has crossed 200 crores at the Indian box office.
The multilingual project, featuring Adah Sharma and written and directed by Sudipto Sen, has garnered a lot of attention since the makers released its trailer. Liberals and the opposition, particularly the Left and the Congress, have labeled it as a propaganda piece and demanded a ban on its screening.
The movie revolves around Shalini Unnikrishnan, played by Adah Sharma, an innocent Hindu woman from Kerala, who is brainwashed by her Muslim friend and gets converted to Islam and marries a Muslim man. The lead actress soon realizes that she has been trapped in a huge terrorist web after she is raped, separated from her only child, and then forced to serve as a sex slave.
