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The Telangana unit of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), the economic wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), organised a special screening of The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond in Hyderabad on Saturday, February 28.
The screening was attended by Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary Tulla Veerender Goud and former BJP national secretary P Muralidhar Rao. Social media influencers were also invited to the event “to spread the message” of the film.
“The Kerala Story 2 is a bold and unapologetic film. It dares to speak about realities that are often dismissed in mainstream narratives. The movie highlights the importance of cultural awareness, societal responsibility, and the need to remain rooted in our civilisational values,” said Keshav Soni, Prant Prachar Pramukh of the SJM’s Telangana unit.
“This is not just cinema for entertainment. It is cinema with a purpose. It urges every Bharatiya to stay conscious, informed, and proud of our identity,” he added.
The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond, a sequel in the same franchise as The Kerala Story (2023), has faced significant backlash over its portrayal of the Muslim community and its recurring theme of “love jihad” — a claim propagated by right-wing organisations alleging that Muslim men lure Hindu and Christian women into marriage to convert them to Islam.
The film, which claims to be “inspired by many true events,” is produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah and directed by Kamakhya Narayan Singh. The trailer depicts three Hindu women from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Kerala allegedly being deceived by Muslim men into marriage with the intent of converting and sexually exploiting them.
The film’s release was legally challenged after two Kerala residents filed separate petitions in the High Court, arguing that the film denigrates the state and promotes the idea that Kerala is a hub of Islamic extremism.
On February 26, the Kerala High Court stayed the film’s release, observing that it had “prima facie potential to distort public perception and disturb communal harmony.”
“…the very content in the teaser itself, which is conceded to be part of the movie, has the prima facie potential to distort public perception and disturb communal harmony,” Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas said. The single judge also noted that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) may not have properly followed certification guidelines while granting a UA 16+ certificate and directed the CBFC to reconsider the objections within two weeks.
However, a day later, on February 27, a Division Bench comprising Justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and PV.Balakrishnan lifted the stay and allowed the film’s release.
Meanwhile, Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari, who was part of the Division Bench that heard the case, has been appointed as the new Chief Justice of the Madras High Court.
