Last Updated: May 08, 2023, 19:30 IST
Mamata Banerjee announces ban on The Kerala Story in WB.
CM Mamata Banerjee’s announcement comes a day after multiplexes in Tamil Nadu stopped screening The Kerala Story after protests in a few cities.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday declared a ban on producer Vipul Shah’s ‘The Kerala Story’ in the state. The film, starring Adah Sharma, hit theatres on Friday (May 5) amid major controversy and multiple petitions challenging its release. Banerjee’s announcement comes a day after multiplexes in Tamil Nadu stopped screening The Kerala Story following protests in a few cities including Chennai.
News agency ANI quoted Mamata Banerjee saying, “West Bengal govt has decided to ban the movie The Kerala Story. This is to avoid any incident of hatred and violence, and to maintain peace in the state.” The Kerala Story revolves around a Hindu woman from Kerala who is converted to Islam and trafficked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The Kerala Story has been facing backlash from a section of political parties and groups who have claimed that the film is not based on facts, and propagates hatred against the Muslim community.
Reacting to Banerjee’s decision, Vipul Shah said, “If that is what she has done, we will take legal action. Whatever is possible under the provisions of law, we will fight.”
Apart from Adah Sharma, the Kerala Story also stars Yogita Bihani, Siddhi Idnani and Sonia Balani in the lead roles. Many viewers have called the film a ‘propaganda’. Recently, Adah Sharma also took to her Twitter account and gave a befitting reply to those calling The Kerala Story a ‘propaganda’ movie. She called her movie ‘real’ and urged everyone to Google ‘ISIS’ and ‘Brides’ to know the truth.
And for the the few still calling #TheKeralaStory a propaganda film ,saying these incidents do not exist even after watching testimonials of several Indian victims,,,my humble request , Google two words ISIS and Brides…maybe an account of white girls narrated to you might make… pic.twitter.com/qYBp3B3owQ— Adah Sharma (@adah_sharma) May 6, 2023
“And for the few still calling #TheKeralaStory a propaganda film, saying these incidents do not exist even after watching testimonials of several Indian victims, my humble request, Google two words ISIS and Brides…maybe an account of white girls narrated to you might make you feel that our Indian movie is real,” she wrote.
The film that released last Friday gained massive traction by Sunday taking the numbers to Rs 35 Crore. The industry tracking website Sacnilk reported that the film minted Rs 16.50 crore on Sunday. Meanwhile, on Friday and Saturday collectively, the film has managed collect a total of Rs 20 crore at the ticket window. The report further stated that the Sudipto Sen directorial garnered over 52.92 per cent occupancy and the collection on the third day of its screening was already 50 percent higher.
