The Kerala Story producer Vipul Shah responds to backlash, says film ‘is not against Muslims or Islam’

The Kerala Story’s producer and creative director Vipul Amrutlal Shah responded to the backlash his film had been receiving since its release. He recently stated that the film ‘is not against Muslims or Islam’ but rather against terrorists. Directed by Sudipto Sen, The Kerala Story was released in theatres on May 5, and there were calls to ban the film in a few states including West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. (Also read: Anurag Kashyap tweets after Mamata Banerjee bans The Kerala Story in West Bengal: ‘It is just wrong’)

The Hindi film stars Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Siddhi Idnani and Sonia Balani in lead roles. It has been declared tax-free in Madhya Pradesh. At the box office, it crossed the ₹50 crore mark on its fifth day of release, earning ₹11.14 crore on Tuesday. It has earned ₹56.86 crore at the domestic box office so far; The Kerala Story will be released internationally on May 12.

In an interview with Rediff, Vipul stressed that The Kerala Story “is not against Muslims or Islam, it’s against terrorists.” He also added, “This film is not against a particular religion or caste. What has been most satisfying is that some people were posting angry, nasty and abusive messages against the film. Three of them have publicly apologised on the same platform after seeing the film, calling it a fantastic film. That’s a very big vindication or validation of what we have been saying. I’m sure, with time, as temperatures go down, people will understand that this film is not against anyone, it’s against terrorism. And we are appealing to all those who are against terrorism, to join us in our fight.”

The filmmaker also addressed the timing of the film’s release, stating that there was an election in India happening every three months. He added he didn’t want to be deterred from making the film and telling the stories of those affected. Vipul also shared that the testimonies from the victims’ families are shown at the end of the film

Vipul, who is married to actor Shefali Shah, last directed the Disney+ Hotstar web series Human starring his wife. He has also directed features like Aankhen, Waqt: The Race Against Time, Namastey London, London Dreams, Action Replayy and Namaste England. He is also producing Force 4 directed by Abhinay Deo.