On Tuesday, May 16, the West Bengal government led by CM Mamata Banerjee submitted an affidavit in which it defended a ban on the film The Kerala Story claiming that the movie contains ‘manipulated facts and hate speech’ in several scenes and may hurt the religious sentiments leading to communal disharmony and pose a law and order situation.
In its affidavit, the West Bengal government stated that it decided to ban the film’s screening in the state by invoking its statutory power under Section 6(1) of the West Bengal Cinema Regulation Act 1954 based on intelligence information indicating that the ‘hate speech’ in several scenes of the film “may hurt communal sentiments and cause disharmony between communities, which will eventually lead to a law and order situation.”
Moreover, the Mamata government also claimed that the audience makes objectionable comments when they see scenes in the movie where Hindu and Christian girls are tormented. It further claimed that the moviegoers coming out of the theatres after watching the film talked about limiting their interaction with Muslims.
“During surveillance, it has been observed that the audience makes very objectionable comments whenever they see a particular scene where Hindu or Christian girls are seen tortured. It has also been observed that while coming out of movie halls people discuss among themselves to limit their interaction with Muslims and or that these Muslims ought to be taught a lesson,” the West Bengal government’s affidavit stated.
This comes after the Mamata Banerjee government on May 8 banned the release of The Kerala Story saying that it was done to “maintain peace”. While hearing the plea filed by The Kerala Story makers challenging the ban, the Supreme Court on May 12 issued a notice to the West Bengal government seeking to know the rationale behind banning the screening of The Kerala Story movie in the state. It questioned the state government as to why the movie can’t be screened peacefully in the state when it has been running without issues in the rest of the country.
Earlier, OpIndia reported that the Tamil Nadu government claimed before the Supreme Court on May 15 that there is no prohibition on screening of the film ‘The Kerala Story’ in the state. The CM MK Stalin-led government claimed in its affidavit that theatre owners chose not to exhibit the film out of their own will due to a ‘poor response to the movie.
