The Kerala High Court has halted the release of The Kerala Story 2, observing that the film depicts the state in a wrong light.
The movie, directed by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, was scheduled to hit cinemas on February 27.
The observation was made by Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas after a petition was filed seeking to stop the film’s release. The court agreed to view the film ahead of its scheduled release, leading to the interim halt. The stay is for 15 days.
In an affidavit, Shah argued that the plea to halt the release was premature, misconceived, and not maintainable. The affidavit stated that the supervisory jurisdiction of the court does not extend to substituting its own assessment of a film’s content for the expert judgment of the certifying authority. It also noted that the film was slated for release in over 1,800 theatres across India and overseas.
Following the court’s decision, a new release date is expected to be announced by the makers.
Meanwhile, the production house Sunshine Pictures issued an official clarification denying reports that the film’s teaser had been removed after court intervention. The company described such claims as completely false, baseless, and misleading.
In a statement, Sunshine Pictures said the matter is sub judice and no court has passed any order directing the removal of promotional content. It added that neither the teaser nor the trailer has been taken down and both remain available on official platforms.