Kerala High Court on Wednesday asked the producer of The Kerala Story 2 — Goes Beyond to put on hold the film’s release until the arguments were over, citing that the petitioners’ concerns might be genuine.
Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas had on Tuesday observed that the teaser and trailers of the movie depicted Kerala in a wrong light. He also said using the state’s name in the movie title and claiming that the film is based on facts could lead to communal tensions.
The three separate pleas have sought quashing of the certificate for public viewing granted to the movie, which is scheduled to be released on February 27.
The film’s producer, Vipul Amrutlal Shah, told the court that the pleas opposing the movie’s release were “premature, misconceived and not maintainable”.
Shah, in his affidavit, has also contended that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) was the sole expert authority constituted under the Cinematograph Act, 1952, to examine films in their entirety and certify them for public exhibition.
“The supervisory jurisdiction of this court does not extend to substituting its own assessment of a film’s content for the expert judgment of the certifying authority,” he has said in his affidavit.
Referring to the plea by the first petitioner — Sreedev Namboodiri of Kannavam in Kannur district — Shah has claimed that it was filed “with a mala fide intention and an ulterior motive to gain financial benefits from him”.
The producer said the teasers of the film were released 16 days before the filing of the plea.
He said the exhibition of a certified film could not be restrained based on a two-minute teaser alone, without any examination of the complete film.
“The said film is slated to release in over 1,800 theatres across India as well as overseas,” Shah claimed.
The high court will again hear the arguments on
Thursday.