On Thursday, a division bench of the Kerala High Court heard an appeal against a single judge’s judgment that put the release of The Kerala Story 2 Goes Beyond on hold for 15 days. According to PTI, the court held a late evening session. A bench of Justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and P V Balakrishnan noted that the petitions contesting the film’s certification were in the type of public interest litigation and questioned how a single judge could consider them.
Hours after the single judge stayed the film’s distribution, the producers filed an appeal, and the division bench began hearing it at 8 p.m. The producers asserted that the film has no negative impact on Kerala or any religious community. Senior attorney Neeraj Kishan Kaul, representing the producers, informed the court that the Central Board of picture Certification (CBFC) found nothing in the picture that denigrated the state.
“The film only portrays a social evil,” he said. Earlier in the day, the court blocked the film’s release, citing the CBFC’s failure to follow legal standards. The court also stated that “the possibility of communal disharmony or denigration of a community is prima facie involved in the movie,” and that its release without further review by higher authorities would be legally unlawful.
Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas also stated that the film’s trailer has “a prima facie potential to distort public perception and disturb communal harmony.” As a result, the court stated that it may be necessary to conduct “a comprehensive assessment of the film to identify the existence of sensitive thematic content, including its treatment of interfaith dynamics and visual presentation,” as required by the Cinematograph Act of 1952.
The film, directed by Kamakhya Narayan Singh, was set to open on February 27. Amarnath Jha and Vipul Amrutlal Shah co-wrote Kerala Story 2. Ulka Gupta, Aditi Bhatia, and Aishwarya Ojha co-star in The Kerala Story 2. The trailer for the next film has provoked divided reactions. The makers of The Kerala Story 2 recently published a trailer for the sequel, which showed how Hindu women were captured by Islamic guys in the guise of love. Their parallel lives demonstrate how romance and rebellion evolve into domination and quiet, transforming love into a weapon that destroys liberty.
