Mamata Banerjee announces ban on The Kerala Story in West Bengal, film producer reacts

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Monday announced a ban on Sudipto Sen’s film The Kerala Story. The film landed in controversy since the release of its trailer. The trailer was criticised for earlier claiming that 32,000 girls from Kerala went missing and joined the terrorist group, ISIS, later. Also read: The Kerala Story box office day 3 collection: Sudipto Sen’s film earns ₹16 crore, shows highest growth so far

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.”

She also said, “What is The Kashmir files? it is to humiliate one section. What is The Kerala story?… It is a distorted story.” Reacting to the decision, film producer 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.”

Recently, The Kerala Story was pulled down from theatres in Tamil Nadu. President of Tamil Nadu Theatre and Multiplex Owners Association, M Subramaniam, confirmed the decision and told news agency PTI, “The film was only shown in a few multiplexes owned by pan-India groups, mostly PVR. Locally-owned multiplexes had already decided not to show the film, as it did not have any popular stars. In Coimbatore for instance, there were two shows so far — one on Friday and one on Saturday. Even those did not do well. Given that, theatres decided that it was not worth going through the threat of protests and such.”

The Kerala Story stars Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Siddhi Idnani and Sonia Balani in the lead roles. Helmed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, the film triggered a massive political row with many calling it a propaganda film.

Earlier, the Kerala High Court had mentioned that the producers have published a disclaimer along with the movie which specifically says that the film has fictionalised and is a dramatised version of events. It also noted that the film doesn’t claim the accuracy or factuality of historic events.

While many were seeking a ban on the film, the HC refused to issue a stay order on the release of the film. The film collected ₹16 crore at the domestic box office on the third day of its release. This takes their total earning to over ₹35 since its release on May 5.