‘The Kerala Story’ teaser to be removed from YouTube and all other social media accounts
The Kerala Story, starring Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, and Sonia Balani, has been trending on social media since last week due to its contentious assertion that 32,000 Kerala women were converted to Islam and recruited by ISIS. On Friday, the film’s producer, Vipul Amrutlal Shah, consented to remove the teaser from all social media handles in response to a request from the Kerala High Court. The Kerala High Court, however, refused to stay the release of the contentious film ‘The Kerala Story,’ which opened in theatres today.
.
According to Livelaw, the Kerala High Court Division Bench, comprised of Justices N. Nagaresh and Sophy Thomas, recorded the producer’s petition that the movie’s teaser, which stated that over 32,000 women from Kerala were recruited to ISIS, be removed from their social media account.
Justice Nagaresh questioned the producers’ lawyer Kadam about how they came up with the figure of 32,000 women being converted. According to the LiveLaw article, Kadam responded that the numbers were based on information obtained by the producers; however, he agreed to remove the teaser that made the assertion.
The film, directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, has sparked a tremendous political uproar. Kerala’s ruling party and the Congress protested to the film’s subject matter and sought a complete ban on it, stating it was a complete propaganda film that spread lies without evidence.
Kerala’s ruling party and the Congress initially petitioned the Supreme Court, but it refused to hear the petitions and directed them to file a petition in Kerala High Court. Meanwhile, ‘The Kerala Story’ has received mixed response from the audience and critics.
