The Kerala High Court has refused to stay the release of the controversial multi-lingual film ‘The Kerala Story’ and said that the trailer does not contain anything offensive to any particular community as a whole. The court also noted that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has examined the movie and found that it is suitable for public exhibition.
The movie, starring Adah Sharma, was released in cinemas on Friday and is portrayed as “unearthing” the events behind “approximately 32,000 women” allegedly going missing from Kerala. According to the CPI(M) and the Congress in Kerala, the film falsely claims that 32,000 women got converted and radicalised and were deployed in terror missions in India and across the world.
A bench of Justices N Nagaresh and Sophy Thomas noted the submission made by the producers that they do not intend to retain an “offending teaser” which contained a statement that “32,000 women” from Kerala were converted and joined a terrorist organisation. The court said that going through the trailers of the movie, “We find that the trailer does not contain anything offensive to any particular community as a whole.”
The Kerala High Court also noted 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 and that the film doesn’t claim accuracy or factuality of historic events.
During the hearing, Justice Nagaresh said that merely because a few clerics were shown as bad people, “We cannot ban the movie”. “There are numerous movies in which sanyasis, christian priests and others are shown as bad people,” he said.
The petitions contended that the movie “falsely portrayed” certain facts which had resulted in “insulting” the people of Kerala, and sought a stay on the movie’s impending release.
In conclusion, the Kerala High Court’s decision to allow the release of ‘The Kerala Story’ has sparked controversy, with some alleging that the movie falsely portrays historic events and insults the people of Kerala. Nevertheless, the court has taken into account the CBFC’s certification and the producers’ disclaimer and found that the movie does not contain anything offensive to any particular community as a whole.