Makers Address Backlash to The Kerala Story 2: ‘Sequel Targets Criminals, Not Kerala’
Directed by Kamakhya Narayan Singh, the film stars Ulka Gupta, Aishwarya Ojha, and Aditi Bhatia.
Vipul Amrutlal Shah, the producer of The Kerala Story 2, has defended his movie amid legal backlash. He clarified that the Hindi-language movie is not against Kerala or its people. Shah, at a press meet on Friday, iterated that it does not portray the state or Keralites negatively. He described Kerala as "God's own country" and a culturally rich place.
"Once you watch the film, you will see that we have not said anything negative about Kerala or the people of Kerala," he told journalists.
A major point of contention was that no Malayali victim of the so-called "love jihad" was present at the press meet. The makers brought non-Malayali victims, especially from parts of North India. The title The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond, the makers added, reflects that the issue of alleged forced religious conversions involves criminals from multiple states (Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and beyond), not exclusively Kerala. They are exposing "a few criminals" and an "evil" practice, not defaming the entire state or its population.
Directed by Kamakhya Narayan Singh, the film stars Ulka Gupta, Aishwarya Ojha, and Aditi Bhatia.