Plea against ‘Kerala Story 2’: HC issues notice to producers, CBFC

Kochi: High court has issued notice to the producers of the Hindi feature film ‘The Kerala Story 2 – Goes Beyond' in a petition alleging that the film, which is proposed to be released on Feb 27, has not complied with the statutory mandate under the Cinematograph Act, 1952.A bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas issued notice to Sunshine Pictures, the producers, as well as to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), in a petition filed by Sreedev Namboothiri of Kannur, and adjourned the plea to Tuesday.Namboothiri alleged in his petition that, from the teaser and trailer of the movie, it is evident that the film portrays narratives involving women from multiple states, yet singularly brands the content as "The Kerala Story," thereby associating alleged incidents of terrorism, forced conversion, and demographic conspiracy exclusively with the state of Kerala. Such a portrayal has the potential to stigmatise an entire regional population, disturb public order and incite communal and regional disharmony, the petitioner claimed.The petition further stated that the first part of the movie had earlier generated serious controversy on account of alleged false claims, which were noted during proceedings before the Supreme Court. Despite this background, the CBFC granted certification to the sequel without adequate examination of its impact on public order, decency and morality, as mandated under Section 5B of the Cinematograph Act, 1952, the petitioner alleged.It was also stated that, although the petitioner has invoked the statutory remedy of revision, the same is presently pending. The petitioner further sought relief to quash the censor certificate issued to the movie and to suspend its exhibition.