- Released in 2023, The Kerala Story sparked controversy from the moment its teaser dropped
- Critics accused the film of pushing a narrative around religious conversions
- The most dramatic action came from West Bengal
Long before The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond ran into legal hurdles and political criticism, its predecessor had already endured one of the most turbulent journeys before its release.
Released on May 5, 2023, The Kerala Story, directed by Sudipto Sen and starring Adah Sharma, sparked controversy from the moment its teaser dropped.
The initial promotional material claimed that 32,000 women from Kerala had been trafficked by ISIS - a figure that drew immediate backlash for being factually misleading.
Critics accused the film of pushing a narrative around religious conversions, "love jihad," and recruitment into ISIS that they said promoted Islamophobia and furthered a divisive political agenda.
Legal petitions were swiftly filed in the Supreme Court of India, the Madras High Court, and the Kerala High Court seeking a ban, arguing that the film could incite communal disharmony. While the courts declined to stall its release, the filmmakers were directed to remove promotional references to the 32,000 figure and to modify the trailer.
The most dramatic action came from West Bengal. In May 2023, the Mamata Banerjee-led government banned the film under the West Bengal Cinemas Regulation Act, terming it "hate speech" and citing intelligence reports warning of possible law-and-order issues.
The ban was later stayed by the Supreme Court, which described it as overbroad and issued notices to West Bengal and Tamil Nadu on their rationale. The top court also ordered the addition of two disclaimers - one clarifying that the film was a fictionalised account, and another stating there was no evidence to support the claim of 32,000 conversions.
In Tamil Nadu, multiplex associations stopped screenings citing law-and-order concerns, though the filmmakers alleged political censorship. The film also faced protests in Kerala and Tamil Nadu and performed poorly in the latter.
Despite this resistance, The Kerala Story went on to gross over Rs 300 crore at the box office, emerging as one of the most commercially successful films of the year. It was also granted tax-free status in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh.
When The Kerala Story Won Two National Awards
The controversy did not end with its theatrical run. When The Kerala Story won two honours at the 71st National Film Awards in 2025 - Best Director for Sudipto Sen and Best Cinematography for Prasantanu Mohapatra - political reactions resurfaced.
The Feature Film Jury, chaired by filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker, defended the decision. Addressing questions over the cinematography award, Gowariker told NDTV, "One is the cinematography award. The cinematography in The Kerala Story was very stark and realistic. It didn't ever try to overpower the narrative; the images were created within the realm of things. So, we applauded that."
Explaining the Best Director recognition, he added, "It's a difficult topic and to convey that with the kind of clarity that as a jury we felt the need to applaud it."
However, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan criticised the honour, calling the film an example of misinformation and alleging that recognising it was an affront to the secular tradition of Indian cinema.
Opposition leader VD Satheesan and Congress MP KC Venugopal echoed similar concerns, alleging political bias in the awards process. While both the ruling Left Democratic Front and the opposition United Democratic Front opposed the recognition, the Bharatiya Janata Party supported it. Actor-politician Prakash Raj also criticised the jury's decision.
Thus, even as it collected national honours, the film remained deeply polarising.
Now, The Spotlight Shifts To The Sequel
Nearly three years later, history appears to be repeating itself. The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond, directed by Kamakhya Narayan Singh and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, is scheduled for release on February 27, 2026. Yet, like its predecessor, it has been engulfed in controversy even before hitting cinemas.
Unlike the first film, Sudipto Sen has stepped away from directing. Explaining his decision, he told India Today, "For the first film, I researched the subject for 10 years. I could stand by every word and visual in that film. If the sequel expands beyond Kerala into other states, I cannot rely on WhatsApp forwards or newspaper reports."
He further said, "Sensitive subjects require deep research and long-term study. Without that foundation, I wouldn't feel responsible enough to direct it."
The sequel is described as a thematic continuation rather than a direct narrative follow-up. The trailer introduces three Hindu women from different parts of India who fall in love with Muslim men against their families' wishes.
It then depicts what the film frames as their gradual isolation from their customs, disillusionment, and coercion within relationships.
One of the most debated scenes shows a Hindu woman being forcibly fed beef - a moment that has drawn intense reactions in a country where cow protection carries deep religious and political sensitivity. Supporters argue the film reflects documented realities; critics contend it is crafted to inflame emotions.
The political response has been swift. Pinarayi Vijayan labelled the sequel "false propaganda" and "poisonous". A petition has been filed in the Kerala High Court by a biologist challenging its release. The plea alleges that the film contains "malicious and stereotypical projections scandalising an entire state without any basis."
It further states, "A perusal of the trailer of the movie shows that the story is based on women from three different states and takes place mainly in the northern part of India. Yet, the title and scenes try to portray the state in a bad light."
The petition adds, "The movie tends to alienate Kerala and Keralites from the rest of India. Also, the name is an intentional attempt to impute a reality to what is more or less a speculative fear of the writer or director. While the petitioner is not against the freedom of expression of the writer-filmmaker to express their fears, whether substantive or speculative, they cannot attribute that fear to Kerala, to an entire state, falsely."
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap and Prakash Raj have publicly criticised the film, prompting rebuttals from its director.
The Kerala High Court on Tuesday ordered the makers of The Kerala Story 2 to arrange a screening of the Hindi film for the court in Kochi before its release on Friday. Later, the makers stated that they are not ready to show the movie to the high court, following which the court deferred the matter for hearing on February 25 to make a final decision.
The film stars Ulka Gupta, Aditi Bhatia and Aishwarya Ojha as the main leads. The sequel is written by Amarnath Jha and Vipul Amrutlal Shah, and directed by Kamakhya Narayan Singh.