Kochi: ‘The Kerala Story’ hit the screens today after having to overcome court battles.
The Kerala High Court declined to stay the screening of the film, which narrates the story of a group of women from Kerala who are converted to Islam and join the extremist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
However, producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah on Friday had to assure the high court that the teaser of the film — which claimed over 32,000 women from Kerala were recruited by ISIS — will be removed from their social media handles.
The petition seeking a stay on the release of ‘The Kerala Story’ came up on May 2, with the Supreme Court refusing to entertain the plea which stated the film was the “worst kind of hate speech” and an “audio-visual propaganda”.
The high court observed that the trailer does not contain anything offensive against a particular community as a whole. It added that CBFC, a competent statutory authority, has examined the movie and found it suitable for screening.
Directed by Sudipto Sen and featuring Adah Sharma, the controversial film has been facing opposition in the state. A number of shows were cancelled in several districts across Kerala on its release.
Two shows in Kochi, which were listed earlier, have been cancelled, while theatre owners at Lulu Mall and Centre Square Mall in Kochi have decided to boycott the movie.
Theatres in Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki, Kannur and Wayanad districts have also decided not to screen the ‘The Kerala Story’.
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