The Kerala Story producer Vipul Shah on Tamil Nadu protests: It's controlled by one person

The Kerala Story producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah recently spoke about the protests against the film in Tamil Nadu. While speaking with ANI during a press conference, Shah said that one individual is responsible for threatening the state government. The individual, he said, also halted the film’s release in Tamil Nadu. Vipul Shah also revealed that many people want to see The Kerala Story, but cannot due to one person’s hold over law and order.

Vipul Shah told ANI, “An individual person threatened the state government and stopped the film from being released in Tamil Nadu. Many people are calling us and saying that they want to see this film but they are not able to see it in Tamil Nadu because one person has controlled the entire law and order situation by threatening”. He also urged the DMK and Congress government with a request and asked for “strict, credible steps” against the protest, and further asked them to release the film the following morning. 

“I want to request the DMK and Congress government to take some strict, creditable steps against it immediately, and release the film there tomorrow morning,” Shah told the news agency. He also revealed that several people had previously petitioned against The Kerala Story, but Chennai High Court and Supreme Court did not consider them. Moreover, he added, that the Kerala High Court is still letting the film run unperturbed. 

Protests against 'The Kerala Story'

Naam Tamilar Katchi, a political party based in Tamil Nadu, staged a protest against the release of The Kerala Story in Chennai. The protests were started by actor-director Seeman, who led the protests at the Chennai Anna Nagar Arch near Skywalk Mall in Chennai. Seeman had also reportedly urged the theatre owners to not show the film to the audiences and appealed to the audiences to not watch the film as well. The Kerala Story was released on May 5, 2023, and has been directed by Sudipto Sen.

More about The Kerala Story and its opposition 

The Kerala Story features Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Sonia Balani, and Siddhi Idnani. It focuses on the forced religious conversions to Islam of more than 32,000 women in Kerala, and details how many of those targeted were later sent to the ISIS-dominated country Syria. The makers of the film encountered a petition against it being sent to the Supreme Court right after the release of its trailer. 

While the petition claimed that the film was the “worst kind of hate speech” and “audio-visual propaganda”, it was ultimately denied. Since then, the film has received opposition from political parties such as the CPI(M) and Congress, alleging that The Kerala Story operates on a “false claim”. However, producer Vipul Shah and director Sudipto Sen remain adamant and outspoken about the authenticity of the film.