The actor-turned-politician Khushbu Sundar condemned the opposition faced by the controversial film “The Kerala Story” in Tamil Nadu. She believes people should be allowed to choose what they want to watch. As a result of poor box office collections, the Tamil Nadu screenings of the film were discontinued. In her tweet, Khushbu criticised Tamil Nadu government officials for giving lame reasons to cancel the shows. The actress thanked them for letting people know the film was worth watching.
Further, the BJP leader said that she wonders why there is a ban on the movie “The Kerala Story”. Perhaps they (the Tamil Nadu government) are afraid of realising that they have unknowingly, silently been a part of the truth or because the movie portrays it so blatantly.
The Tamil Nadu Theatre and Multiplex Owners Association president M Subramaniam has stated that screenings of the movie “The Kerala Story” have been suspended since May 7 because there are no big stars in the film. Although the movie was screened in some pan-India theatres, it did not perform well. According to Subramaniam, the theatre owners decided that screening the movie wasn’t worth risking protests or any other issues. Therefore, they chose to stop screening the movie. This decision came after Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) protested earlier this month against the screenings of The Kerala Story in the state, beginning May 7.
The film “The Kerala Story” has caused controversy because it claims that ISIS recruited thousands of Muslim women from Kerala. The teaser for the film starring Adah Sharma was released. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called it Sangh family propaganda. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also weighed in, stating that the claim that ISIS has trained 33,000 women is false and exaggerated.
“The Kerala Story,” directed by Sudipto Sen, has reportedly performed well at the box office despite criticism of alleged factual inaccuracies. It collected almost Rs 20 crore in the first two days after its release on Friday, May 5. According to industry tracker Sacnilk, the movie collected approximately Rs 16.50 crore on Sunday. This was almost 50% higher than the previous day’s collection.
The Kerala Story grossed Rs 35.75 crore in its opening weekend. Notably, the film also achieved a remarkable 52.92% occupancy rate in the Hindi market, indicating its widespread popularity among audiences. It is estimated that the film has already achieved hit statThe film’s appeal is unlikely to be diminished even if box office earnings dip over the weekday appeal. With no major releases competing for attention, except for Hollywood’s Guardians of the Galaxy, viewers are expected to flock to theatres to watch The Kerala Story.
Reported by Matrika Shukla
