The makers of The Kerala Story 2, producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah and director Kamakhya Narayan Singh, held a press conference in Delhi to promote their upcoming film. At the conference, they introduced 30 women who have allegedly gone through forced Islamic conversions. However, the filmmakers soon found themselves in an argument with the media after it was alleged that their film was ‘insulting’ the state. (Also Read: Anurag Kashyap calls beef parotta the best amid The Kerala Story 2 controversy; doubles down on propaganda stance)
None of the 30 victims present were from Kerala
At the press conference, the victims Vipul and Narayan presented to the press were from Bengal, Bihar, Bhilwada, Gangapur, Rajkot, Udaipur, Jammu, Maharashtra, Bhopal, Jharkhand, Faridabad, Meerut, Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon and Indore. When the reporters questioned them why there was not a single Malayali victim present, Vipul said, “We brought those who suffered from Kerala after Kerala Story 1. The video is still available on YouTube.”
He added, “Had we brought them again, you would have said we brought the same people. You can’t argue both sides.” When the reporters asked how the film’s story was different from the first one, Narayan claimed, “No, it’s the same story. This is a pan-India story.” Narayan also argued that the film had nothing to do with the Kerala elections and was not political, while Vipul said, “Aapko isko masala dena hai, aap dijiye please. (You add spice to it if you want).”
Makers claim being blind to issue is destroying Kerala
When the reporters then asked why the film was named only after Kerala if the film was about issues across the country, Narayan replied, “No, it’s related to Kerala also. And from Kerala, how it is all over India. The first time we made this story, people said this is only Kerala’s story. We now want to show that this happens across the country, not just Kerala.”
When a reporter got incensed and stated that Kerala is ‘number one in education’ and that they’re ‘insulting Kerala’, Vipul shot back, “Let me ask you a straight and simple question. On the floor of assembly, the then CM had put a report. If you are going to be blind towards the problem in your state, which is a wonderful state. You are destroying the state; you are responsible. Not us. You don’t want to accept there’s a problem.”
The filmmakers also ignored questions about Anurag Kashyap and Prakash Raj criticising the film, with Vipul questioning if those criticising the film have sensitivity towards the victims. At the press conference, an argument also broke out over the usage of the term ‘love jihad’, which the makers claimed was a term recognised by the court. However, the media argued that in 2020, the Centre said the term isn’t defined by law, and no such case has been reported by any Central agency. This was also upheld by the Kerala High Court.
The Kerala Story 2 is slated for release in theatres on February 27.
