The Kerala Story: Supreme Court stays order of West Bengal government banning the screening of film in State

Ever since the film The Kerala Story hit the theatres on May 5, it has been facing a bunch of troubles, severe backlashes, and a ban on the film by the West Bengal Government.

The story of the film primarily is about a girl named Shalini from the state of Kerala, who is abducted and subsequently forcefully converted to Islam. Later, she is compelled to join ISIS as a terrorist and work against the interests of her native country. However, this plotline has not gone down well in certain sections of society, some of whom claim that the film is against a particular religion. In view of the developments, West Bengal, on May 8, had banned the screening of the film in the state following which the makers of the film approached the Supreme Court.

And now, a fresh development has come in the matter. The Supreme Court has stayed the May 8 order of the West Bengal government banning the screening of the film The Kerala Story in the State. "West Bengal by an order dated May 8 issued an order under Section 6(1) read with section 4 of West Bengal Cinemas Regulation Act prohibiting exhibition of the film in entire West Bengal. Prima facie we are of the view that the prohibition by West Bengal is not tenable on the basis of material before. Thus, the order banning the film is stayed," the Court ordered.

Further, the Court directed the film makers to ensure that “by 5 pm on May 20, the movie carries a disclaimer clearly stating that the film is a fictionalised version of events and there is no authentic data to back up the figure of conversion (of women to Islam) is 32,000,” reported news portal Bar and Bench.

The Kerala Story stars actors Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Sonia Balani, and Siddhi Idnani in key roles.