Producers Guild of India raises strong objection on ‘state-enforced’ ban on The Kerala Story, says it is ‘distressed’

Amid calls for a ban on Sudipto Sen’s film The Kerala Story, the Producers Guild of India has issued a statement raising ‘strong objection’. On Tuesday, the official Twitter account of the Producers Guild of India shared the statement. It captioned the post, “Official Statement by Producers Guild of India.” (Also Read | The Kerala Story box office day 4 collection)

The statement read, “The Producers Guild of India is distressed by, and would like to record its strong objection to, state-enforced bans on The Kerala Story. As emphasized by us on several occasions in the past, film releases are regulated by CBFC and any film that complies with this statutory requirement should face no further hurdles in having the paying public decide on its fate.”

It also added, “Of course, the audience can choose to watch or ignore any film but that is a choice that should be theirs to make, not one that is imposed on them by any party other than CBFC. We call upon all the relevant authorities to urgently address this all-too-frequent phenomenon of films being denied their right to unfettered, nation-wide exhibition despite having duly complied with regulatory requirements.”

On Monday, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee banned the film in the state. Speaking about it, film’s director Sudipto Sen told news agency ANI that the decision was “politically motivated”, urged her to watch the film and then take any decision. The Kerala Story, which hit the theatres on Friday, has been facing protests across the country due to its storyline.

The film stars Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Siddhi Idnani and Sonia Balani in the lead roles. The controversy surrounding the film started when its trailer claimed that 32,000 women from Kerala had gone missing and joined the terrorist group ISIS. This statement triggered a heated political debate and many leaders questioned the veracity of the claim. However, in the face of protests, the figure in the trailer was withdrawn.

Recently, veteran actor Shabana Azmi showed support for the film. In a tweet, she wrote, “Those who speak of banning #The Kerala Story are as wrong as those who wanted to ban Aamir Khan’s #Laal Singh Chaadha. Once a film has been passed by the Central Board of Film Certification nobody has the right to become an extra-constitutional authority.”