Netizens slam ‘The Kerala Story 2’, label it 'religious propaganda' and 'laughable effort'
The film has already been mired in criticism for allegedly portraying both Muslims and Malayalis in a negative light, and that sentiment appears to have spilled onto social media.
The film has already been mired in criticism for allegedly portraying both Muslims and Malayalis in a negative light, and that sentiment appears to have spilled onto social media.
The film has already been mired in criticism for allegedly portraying both Muslims and Malayalis in a negative light, and that sentiment appears to have spilled onto social media.
Following the recent nod from the Kerala High Court to lift the stay on ‘The Kerala Story 2 Goes Beyond’, theatres across the state — particularly multiplexes — began screening the controversial sequel on Saturday. Yet, the opening response has been markedly muted. Unlike the first film, ‘The Kerala Story’, which drew curious crowds on day one, early box office trends and theatre attendance suggest that many Malayali viewers have chosen to stay away.
The film has already been mired in criticism for allegedly portraying both Muslims and Malayalis in a negative light, and that sentiment appears to have spilled onto social media. Reactions on X range from outright dismissal to sharply worded critique. One user called it “another religious propaganda disaster,” while another wrote that the sequel is “worse than the first… neither subtler nor smarter, just more confident about who to fear and who deserves punishment.” Others described the film as a missed opportunity, arguing that it could have been a hard-hitting narrative but instead ends up feeling unintentionally comical.
The sequel introduces a new Malayali protagonist, Surekha Nair, from Kochi. However, even its attempt to root the story in Kerala geography appears shaky. The opening sequence shows Surekha and her family driving past vast paddy fields — visuals that make Kochi’s distinctly urban landscape look indistinguishable from the backwaters of Alappuzha. For many viewers, this geographical mismatch is not a minor slip but a telling sign of the film’s larger disconnect.
That early inconsistency sets the tone for what critics argue is a film more invested in pushing a particular ideological narrative than in building an authentic, grounded story. Whether the film finds a wider audience in the coming days remains to be seen, but its polarising reception suggests that controversy alone may not be enough to guarantee footfall this time.