On Monday, Kerala High Court heard the petition filed against the makers of upcoming film The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond, and officially sought Centre’s stand on whether the film’s screening can be arranged before it decides the pleas challenging its Censor certificate for allegedly depicting Kerala in a negative light.
After perusing the transcript of some dialogues from the teaser, Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas remarked that the film has portrayed Kerala wrong, and the people in the state live in total harmony. “There is a wrong indication and can also incite passion. That is where the censor board comes into play." the Judge said.
The makers argued that the certification of the film leads to presumption in their favour, also arguing that the content in teaser is not a part of the movie.
The Court then stated the presumptions can be rebutted by the movie itself, adding, “Once the movie is released, it is not just a creation. You are saying it is inspired by true events. It has a great bearing...In bold letters, you are saying inspired by true event. And in very microscopic letters you would have said the characters are all fictional," in an oral observation. The petitioner also argued that the teaser of The Kerala Story 2 was released without due obtaining of censor certificate.
One of the Petitioners argued that using ‘Kerala’ in the title is leading while featuring a pan-India story, also pointing to a meeting held by the makers in Delhi on Monday where none of the victims of terror acts were from Kerala.
The judge took note of the alleged misleading title of the film and added that the apprehension of people of Kerala about the film’s title ‘cannot be ignored’. He added, “Normally, I do not interfere with any movie. Artistic freedom. But you are saying that it is inspired by true events and name Kerala is given, which can create some communal tension. I will watch the movie tomorrow. You can arrange a screening of the movie tomorrow.”
The makers have sought time for getting instructions for when a screening of the film can be arranged for the Court. The matter will be taking up later this afternoon.
As of now, The Kerala Story 2 is slated for theatrical release on February 27.