Kerala High Court has intervened in the controversy surrounding the upcoming Hindi film The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond after a Kannur native filed a petition demanding that the censor certificate issued to it be taken back.
The court has sent a notice to the censor board following the petition filed by Sreedev Namboodiri, who claimed that the film would taint the name of Kerala and create unrest in society. The petitioner claimed that the film will brand Kerala as a land of terrorism and religious conversion. The court has also sent a notice to the producer, Sunshine Pictures. The petition will be taken up for hearing on Tuesday.
The court's intervention comes after filmmaker-producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah launched the trailer of the film, a sequel to the controversial 2023 movie, The Kerala Story. The first film was based on a "true story of 32,000 women" who were allegedly coerced into religious conversion and recruited by the terror group Islamic State.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan unleashed a scathing attack on X, saying: "Kerala will once again reject this attempt to demonise our secular fabric with contempt."
The trailer shows three parallel narratives on Hindu girls who allegedly faced coercion and religious conversion after having relationships with Muslim men. It warns that in another 25 years, India could transform into an Islamic state governed by Sharia law.