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Ever since the teaser for The Kerala Story dropped, the film became the centre of controversy.
At a press conference in Mumbai on Monday, May 8, Producer Vipul Shah and Director Sudipto Sen said they would take legal action against bans imposed by state governments on the screening of the film.
"In Tamil Nadu, one individual has threatened and forced the government to stop the release and the entire state machinery bows down before him," Shah said. "Neither does the police give protection to the theatres nor does the government take any action on them, so it seems to me that daal mein kuch kaala hai."
The Madras high court, the Supreme Court and the Kerala high court have refused to stay the film's release, so it is up to the state government to ensure a 'smooth and fair' release of the film, Shah added.
"If state governments won't listen to us, we will take legal action. Whatever is possible under the provisions of law, we will fight," Shah declared.
The film, starring Adah Sharma in the lead role, claims that around 32,000 women from Kerala were forcefully converted to Islam and trafficked to ISIS and other Islamic war zones. Despite the backlash, the film has been performing well at the box office.
As it raked in Rs 35 crore (Rs 350 million) in its opening weekend, Vipul Shah said there has been a 20 to 30 per cent jump in numbers on Monday.
"It is running successfully in Kerala. Next Wednesday or Thursday, we will dub the film in Malayalam. We haven't faced any issues in Kerala, which is why it's surprising that people have seen the film and appreciated it in Kerala, but in Tamil Nadu, one person has held the state and its government hostage," Shah added.
"People, who were opposing us, ultimately saw the film and understood our stand. Only people who have not seen the film are opposing it," claimed Director Sen.
When a reporter asked if The Kerala Story was trying to target a certain community, Sen said it is not against any community or state or geographical zone but only sheds light on terrorism.
"The film talks about how a vulnerable section of people is being cheated and confused under the garb of religion to become a part of a larger terror plan," Sen stated.
"If you see our social media posts, most comments are from people of the same community and they are thanking us and saying this film should have been made a long back."
When asked if there was support from his friends in Bollywood, Shah said, "I told my friends and supporters from the industry not to get into this controversy because people already have a problem with Bollywood."
"I had told Vidyut (Jammwal) not to share the trailer of the film, and when he did, people started trolling him. There's a troll army that's trying to damage the film," Shah alleged.
Asked if there will be a sequel to The Kerala Story, Shah said, "The topic that we wanted to put forward is finally here and people are appreciating it. This story exposes the trafficking racket. We will think (of the sequel) if we come across a story that shares the same plight."
