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By Latha Srinivasan: The Kerala Story was taken off theatres in Tamil Nadu due to poor collections and protests by people across the state. A special screening of the movie, for which senior state BJP leaders were invited, was scuttled on Wednesday by the police.
On the morning of May 10, a special screening of the film was planned at a popular preview theatre in Chennai and a number of people, including senior BJP politicans, were invited for the show. There were reportedly around 10-12 people who had come to watch the special show.
The Chennai Police, however, intervened and stopped the show citing law and order issues, sources told IndiaToday.in.
When IndiaToday.in spoke to Tamil Nadu BJP vice-president Narayanan Thirupathy, he clarified that the special screening was not organised by the BJP.
Several incidents of violence had been reported across Tamil Nadu when The Kerala Story was released on May 5.
Naam Tamilar Katchi leader Seeman had organised a protest in Chennai on May 6, demandeing that the film be pulled out of theatres. He said if the shows continued, members of his outfit would break the screens and theatres.
Theatre owners in Tamil Nadu decided to stop screening of the film from May 7.
PRODUCERS GUILD REACTS TO BAN
The Producers Guild of India issued a statment on the ban of The Kerala Story citing strong objections to the ban by states. It stated that relevant authoriities need to look inthi this phenomenon of denying the right of films to be screened depsite having complied with regulatory requirements.
Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) member Vani Tripathi reacted to the curbs on The Kerala Story in some states, including Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
“You are taking away the democratic right of the audience, which will decide the fate of the film. You cannot decide it, I cannot decide it, even a producer can’t decide (the fate of the film). It will be the people who will decide if the movie talks to them, whether it creates a bridge between then and what filmmakers are saying,” Vani Tripathi was quoted as saying by a news portal.
ALSO READ: The Kerala Story tickets are tax-free in UP & MP, but it isn’t politics-free. Here’s why?
ALL ABOUT THE KERALA STORY
The Kerala Story revolves around a Hindu woman from Kerala, who is brainwashed by Islamic friends and gets converted. She is later recruited by terror organisation IS.
The film is directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah. The film claims to be based on real-life incidents where around 32,000 women from Kerala are trapped under this hazardous scheme.
After extensive protests, the description of the film’s trailer altered from being the ‘story of 32,000 women’ to that of three women just recently. The movie released in theatres on May 5.
After Madhya Pradesh decided to make The Kerala Story tax-free, Uttar Pradesh too announced the same on Tuesday. Uttarakhand too is likely to make the movie tax-free.
As per early estimates, the film showed a growth of around 10 per cent on Day 5, May 9. It reportedly minted Rs 11 crore at the box office. Hence, the total collection of The Kerala Story now stands at Rs 57 crore. It had an overall 29.67 per cent Hindi occupancy on May 9.
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