Kochi: The High Court on Friday refused to issue a stay order on the release of the controversial film 'The Kerala Story'. The film's production company Sunshine Pictures informed the court that they would take down the teaser from all their social media handles.
The court observed the film is fiction and not history and that a society as secular as Kerala will accept the movie for what it is.
Screening the movie will not disrupt the communal harmony prevalent in Kerala, stated the court.
Citing the Malayalam movie 'Nirmalyam', the court said: "There was a famous award-winning movie wherein an oracle spits on the face of the idol of a goddess. No one found it objectionable."
It also asked why was all this noise around the movie being made now when the teaser came out in November 2022.
A division bench comprising justices N Nagaresh and Sophy Thomas heard the pleas seeking a stay on the screening of 'The Kerala Story' in theatres.
The High Court did not allow the request to hold a special sitting on the matter on Thursday. Thrissur natives Adv V R Anoop, Tammana Sultana and Nationalist Youth Congress general secretary Sijin Stanley filed the petitions seeking a stay on the release of 'The Kerala Story' stating the film hurts religious sentiments.
Welfare Party of India state president K V Mohammed Razak and Muslim League state secretariat member C Shyam Sundar also approached the High Court.
The Supreme Court had earlier returned the petition questioning the movie's release. Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud directed the petition be raised in the High Court.
The Madras High Court too dismissed a PIL filed by independent journalist B R Aravindakshan seeking a ban on the film, stating both the Supreme Court and the Kerala High Court were hearing the matter.
DYFI state secretary V K Sanoj filed a complaint with the DGP, demanding a case be registered against the director and producer of 'The Kerala Story' on the grounds of attempting to spread communal hatred.
KSU general secretary Adesh Sudharman lodged a complaint with the chief minister stating the film is an attempt to spread false propaganda against Kerala and that legal action should be pursued.
Film doesn't claim 32,000 women were converted to Islam: Censor Board
The Censor Board requested the High Court to reject the pleas seeking to stay the screening of 'The Kerala Story' in theatres.
The Censor Board contended that the film was issued the certificate after a complete analysis of its content. Further, the movie was certified for release only after the makers made the changes suggested by the board.
"Nowhere does the film claim that 32,000 women were converted to Islam and were made to join the Islamic State," the board argued.
In the affidavit filed in the High Court, the Censor Board claimed the teaser is not relevant as that portion is not in the film.
The board also clarified in court that it has ensured the movie does not contain dialogues or scenes that intentionally hurt or insult any religion.
Written and directed by Sudipto Sen, 'The Kerala Story' hit theatres on Friday. The film is being screened in 30 theatres across the state. Protests were held by various organisations in front of cinema halls in Kochi and Kozhikode.
The makers originally claimed that 32,000 women from Kerala were converted to Islam and forced to join terrorist organisations like ISIS.
However, after coming under fire from various quarters for bending facts and making false claims, they withdrew the figure and called the movie the story of three women from Kerala, in its trailer description on YouTube.
Ever since the teaser came out in November 2022, the movie had received widespread criticism. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and other political leaders slammed the film's trailer saying it was a deliberate attempt by the Sangh Parivar to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere in Kerala.
