Producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah has accused certain cinema owners in Chennai and Kerala of being pressured or threatened to take down The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond from screens despite the film receiving judicial clearance to be shown in theatres.
Vipul made the remarks after the Kerala High Court lifted an interim stay on the film’s release — imposed earlier amid legal challenges alleging the movie’s content could disrupt communal harmony — and urged the chief ministers of Tamil Nadu and Kerala to enforce the court’s decision strictly and take action against what he termed “gunda elements” trying to halt screenings.
The filmmaker told IANS, “I request the Chief Ministers of both states to fully implement the judgment of the court and take strict action against the Gunda elements who are trying to stop the movie. Otherwise, what is the point of the law, if it is only implemented on us and not them?"
He further pointed out that, “When there was a stay order on our film, we did not try to run any illegal screenings of the movie. We kept the utmost respect for the judiciary of this country."
These developments unfold against a backdrop of widespread protests and show cancellations in parts of Kerala, where groups like the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) have actively opposed the film’s content and staging symbolic demonstrations outside theatres that resulted in cancelled shows and refunds to affected ticket holders.
The controversy stems from The Kerala Story 2’s portrayal of themes related to alleged forced religious conversions and social issues, which critics say could harm communal harmony — concerns that initially prompted the Kerala High Court’s lower bench to temporarily halt the film’s release and ask the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to re-examine its certification.
Vipul Shah has defended his film, stressing that it does not depict Kerala or its people negatively, instead asserting that it seeks to expose criminal activities beyond one region. He also noted that industry stakeholders — including distributors and several theatre owners — reported strong audience response and expressed a desire to increase show He shared, “The film has been getting an extraordinary response at the theatres. Our distributors and theatre owners are extremely happy."
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