Multiplex theatres in Tamil Nadu have halted the screening of “The Kerala Story” from today due to apprehensions regarding the law and order situation, as well as insufficient audience turnout.
Amidst the controversy surrounding the release of “The Kerala Story,” Tamil Nadu theatre owners have decided not to screen the controversial film. Additionally, several online ticket-booking platforms have removed it from their Chennai listings. Currently, the film is only being shown in thirteen theatres in the state.
Theatre owners have cited that screening this movie negatively affects other films in multiplexes, leading to a decrease in their income. A senior member of the Theatre Owners’ Association explained to NDTV that “due to law-and-order concerns, other films shown in multiplexes that screen this movie suffer. It affects our income. That’s why this decision.”
Protest in Chennai
Seeman, the organizer of Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) in Tamil Nadu, led a protest in Chennai on Saturday to oppose the release of ‘The Kerala Story’. The demonstration was held near the Skywalk Mall at the Anna Nagar Arch in Chennai, and NTK members participated in it.
Following Seeman’s call for protest, NTK members staged a demonstration inside the theatre where ‘The Kerala Story’ was being shown, and were later detained by the police.
According to ANI, NTK members were protesting ‘The Kerala Story,’ carrying the Naam Thamizhar Katchi flag and chanting slogans to ban the film. Seeman, the organizer, requested that theatre owners refrain from showing the film and urged the public not to watch it.
Seeman had previously stated that protests would be held, arguing that ‘The Kerala Story’ was discriminatory towards the Muslim community and demanding that the governments of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry ban its screening.
When the trailer for ‘The Kerala Story’ was released, it claimed that 32,000 girls from Kerala had gone missing and joined the terrorist group ISIS, which sparked controversy.
The release of ‘The Kerala Story,’ a multilingual film that claims to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of around 32,000 women from Kerala, was not halted by the Kerala High Court on Friday. The court stated that the movie trailer does not contain anything harmful to any community. However, the film’s producer assured the court that the controversial teaser would not be displayed further on their social media accounts. The movie was subsequently released in theatres on Friday, starring Adah Sharma in the lead role.
According to the CPI(M) and Congress parties in Kerala, ‘The Kerala Story’ film disseminates false information that about 32,000 women from Kerala were converted and radicalized to conduct terrorist operations in India and worldwide. The Kerala Chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, has also issued a statement, alleging that the movie was produced intentionally to generate communal strife and propagate hate speech against Kerala.
The release of ‘The Kerala Story’ was met with cancellations of screenings in many districts of Kerala, with two shows in Kochi being cancelled and theatre owners at Lulu Mall and Centre Square Mall refusing to show the movie. The movie was also boycotted by theatres in Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki, Kannur, and Wayanad.
On Saturday, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan declared that ‘The Kerala Story’ will be tax-free in the state. This announcement came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the movie for exposing terror plots and used it to criticize the Congress party during a rally in Karnataka.
Shortly after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan accused ‘The Kerala Story’ of promoting the Sangh Parivar’s propaganda about religious extremism by focusing on the issue of love jihad, which has been debunked by courts and investigative agencies, senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor criticized the film’s creators.
