Following threats from pro-terror outfits and fringe groups, the Tamil Nadu government is alleged to have imposed an unofficial ban on the screening of the film The Kerala Story.
The Kerala Story is an Indian Hindi-language film directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah. The plot follows the story of a group of women from Kerala who converted to Islam and joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Political parties in Kerala alleged that the movie promotes the Sangh Parivar’s agenda.
On May 6, police in Chennai and Coimbatore arrested over 300 people from various Muslim organizations, including the Social Democratic Party (SDPI) and Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK), who were planning to protest the screening of the movie “The Kerala Story.”
SDPI, TMMK, and a few other Muslim organisations gathered at the theatres with black flags to protest the screening of the film, which they claim promotes hatred against minorities. They were holding placards and shouting slogans in front of movie theatres, demanding that the film be banned.
When the film was released on Friday at the popular Brookefields Mall in Coimbatore, activists marched to the theatres and demanded the release be stopped. According to police sources, all of the activists were removed from the theatre and charged under two IPC sections.
Meanwhile, another Tamil fringe group, the Naam Tamilar party, announced on Saturday that they would lay siege to movie theatres screening the movie ‘The Kerala Story’ across the state. The party’s co-ordinator, who previously demanded the release of an Islamic terrorist arrested in connection with the Coimbatore bombing, has now stated that he will not allow the screening of The Kerala Story in Tamil Nadu in order to appease the Muslim community.
Bookings for the film online ticketing platforms like Book My Show have been withdrawn for cinemas in Tamil Nadu.
MK Stalin bowed down to pressure from pro-Terrorist organisations such as the SDPI and Naam Tamilar Katchi and is believed to have unofficially banned the film.
In light of this, Tamil Nadu’s multiplexes have cancelled shows of the controversial film ‘The Kerala Story’ owing to law & order issues. Despite the fact that the film was playing to packed houses, multiplexes have claimed that attendance was low in order to appease the DMK government.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally