A day after The Kerala High Court stayed the release of the controversial film The Kerala Story 2. However, a day later, the division bench of the HC stayed for two weeks its single judge`s interim order, putting on hold for 15 days the release of The Kerala Story 2-Goes Beyond film. T
The Kerala Story 2 gets greenlight
A bench of justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and P V Balakrishnan passed the order on the appeal moved by the film`s producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah late Thursday night, hours after the movie`s release was stayed. The bench had reserved order in the appeal on Thursday night. The detailed order is awaited. Shah in his appeal had claimed that the film does not harm or denigrate the state of Kerala or any religious community. “The film only portrays a social evil,” his lawyers had told the court.
Vipul Shah says film`s stay will impact producers financially
Shah had also contended that if the film`s release was put on hold, it would “financially finish” the producers as the movie is set to be screened in 1,500 theatres in India and over 300 abroad on February 27. The single judge had stayed the release of the film on the ground that prima facie there was a manifest non-application of mind to the requirement of law by the censor board, CBFC. The judge also said that “the possibility of communal disharmony or denigration of a community also being prima facie involved in the movie”, its release without scrutiny by the higher authorities would be legally improper. The court had further said that the content of the film`s teaser has “a prima facie potential to distort public perception and disturb communal harmony”.
Directed by Kamakhya Narayan Singh and featuring actors such as Ulka Gupta, Aditi Bhatia and Aishwarya Ojha, the film has faced scrutiny since its announcement. Critics have argued that its narrative could potentially create social tensions, which led to the legal challenges in the first place.
(with inputs from PTI)
