Kochi, Feb 27 — The Kerala High Court on Friday allowed the release of The Kerala Story 2, staying an interim order of a single judge that had halted the film’s screening for 15 days.and directed that the petitioner’s revision plea be considered by the Chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification within two weeks.
According to Live Law, a Division Bench comprising Justices SA Dharmadhikari and PV Balakrishnan passed the order on writ appeals filed by producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah challenging the earlier directive of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas. A detailed judgment is awaited.
The Division Bench conducted an urgent hearing at 7:30 pm on Thursday, hours after the interim stay was issued. Senior Advocates Elvin Peter and Neeraj Kishan Kaul appeared for the producer, while Advocates Maitreyi Hegde and Sreerag Shylan represented petitioners who had challenged the film’s censor certification.
Reserving its verdict after detailed arguments, the Bench was told by Senior Advocate Kaul that storytelling was a creative prerogative. He argued that courts had previously declined to intervene in films portraying social evils within other religious communities and urged a similar approach in the present case.
In his appeal, Shah submitted that the film does not harm or denigrate Kerala or any religious community. “The film only portrays a social evil,” his counsel told the court. He further argued that postponing the release would “financially finish” the producers, noting that the film is slated to be screened in 1,500 theatres across India and over 300 overseas.
Directed by Kamakhya Narayan Singh and written by Amarnath Jha along with Shah, the film stars Ulka Gupta, Aditi Bhatia and Aishwarya Ojha. It is scheduled for release on February 27.
The trailer has drawn polarised reactions, depicting the alleged targeting of Hindu women by Muslim men under the guise of romance, and exploring themes of coercion and loss of personal freedom.