Back in 2023, producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah and director Sudipto Sen took theatres by storm with their film The Kerala Story. Starring Adah Sharma, Siddhi Idnani, Yogita Bihani and Sonia Balani, the film followed the story of a group of women from Kerala who are brainwashed into converting to Islam and joining the Islamic State. The Kerala Story won two National Awards but left audiences with mixed feelings. Three years later today, makers dropped the teaser of The Kerala Story 2 Goes Beyond on the internet. At first glance, it seems even more controversial than the first part.
The two minutes long teaser of The Kerala Story 2 begins with actor Ulka Gupta’s introduction as Surekha Nair from Kerala. We then meet Aishwarya Ojha as Neha Sant from Madhya Pradesh and Aditi Bhatia as Divya Paliwal from Rajasthan, learning each of their stories about religious conversion. Surekha was an aspiring IAS officer, Neha wanted to win a gold medal for India in javelin throw and Divya wished to become a social media influencer. The girls share their stories, with bruises on their faces, of how they were blinded by love, brainwashed and converted to Islam.
In the teaser, the girls claim: “Agar woh jeet gaye, toh Bharat ki demography badal jaayegi. Aur Bharat ek Islamic desh ban jaayega. Isi liye humein ladna hoga (If they succeed, India’s demography will change. India will become an Islamic nation. That’s why we must fight).” The three then take off their hijabs and with fierce expressions say, “Kyunki abhi nahi, toh kabhi nahi (Because if not now, then never).” Along with the teaser, makers shared a caption which read: “Our daughters don’t fall in love, they fall in traps. Ab sahenge nahin… ladenge.”
Directed by National Award winner Kamakhya Narayan Singh, The Kerala Story 2 Goes Beyond is set to arrive in theatres on February 27.
