The makers of The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond on Tuesday, February 23 declined to screen the controversial movie to the Kerala High Court, differing from their earlier stance taken before lunch.
Earlier in the day, when the makers claimed that the content in the objectionable teaser did not feature in the film, justice Bechu Kurian Thomas sought for a screening of the film on Wednesday (February 25) before deciding on the three pleas challenging the censor certificate given to the film, and the plea to stall the film’s release. The film’s teaser and trailer has triggered outrage with its provocative portrayal of the Muslim community.
The judge observed that since the film claims to be based on “true events”, the concerns raised by the petitioners regarding misrepresentation and the potential to incite communal tensions appeared justified.
The makers had also agreed to remove the teaser and trailer of the movie while seeking time to get instructions on arranging the screening of the movie for the Court to watch.
The trailer shows the Muslim community as intending to turn India into an Islamic state by luring Hindu women under the garb of love, furthering the bogey of ‘love jihad’. The controversial film is set to release on February 27.
However, post lunch when the hearing resumed, Senior Counsel S Sreekumar, appearing for the producers, submitted that the Court should first decide whether the petitions before the Court are in the nature of a public interest litigation or private litigation, effectively declining to screen the film.
Following the submission of the makers, judge Thomas orally remarked that the producers were not interested in the Court viewing the film.
The judge, according to Bar and Bench, said: “You are not keen that the Court should watch the movie. You want the issue to be decided on whether this petition is a private litigation or a public litigation.”
The Court is now examining the maintainability of the cases. The hearing will continue tomorrow.