.png)
2 hours ago
12
4 min readMumbaiFeb 24, 2026 02:34 PM IST
The Kerala Story 2 is originally slated to release this Friday.
Much like its predecessor, The Kerala Story 2 has become the center of legal scrutiny and controversy. Last week, the Kerala High Court issued a notice to the film’s producers in response to a writ petition challenging its certification. The petition raised concerns over the film’s promotional material, which allegedly depicts women from various states being lured into relationships and coerced into religious conversion. It further argued that while the story spans multiple states, the film repeatedly associates these incidents with Kerala.
Kerala HC says there is a wrong indication
Today, Tuesday, the Kerala High Court sought the Centre’s position on whether a screening of the film can be arranged before it decides the pleas challenging its censor certificate for allegedly portraying the state in a negative light. According to a report by Live Law, Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas remarked orally that while Kerala is a state where people live in harmony, the film misrepresents this reality. He said, “Kerala lives in total harmony. But you have portrayed that this is happening all over Kerala. There is a wrong indication and can also incite passion. That is where the censor board comes into play. Have you considered that?”
The judge also acknowledged the importance of artistic freedom but noted that because the film deals with Keralites, it could affect lives across the state. “Normally, I do not interfere with any movie. Artistic freedom. But you are saying that it is inspired by true events and name Kerala is given, which can create some communal tension. I will watch the movie tomorrow. You can arrange a screening of the movie tomorrow,” he added.
The petitioners argued that while the movie title mentions Kerala, the story is pan-India in scope, which could be misleading. They also cited a recent controversy involving the film Ghooskhor Pandit, where the Supreme Court ruled that film titles cannot denigrate an entire community. “The recent case of the movie Ghooskhor Pandit filed as a PIL before SC wherein it was observed that a movie title cannot offend an entire section of the community, the moviemakers were asked to change the title and it was changed,” their counsel submitted.
The filmmakers countered that the film’s certification carries a presumption in their favour. The Court, however, emphasized that this presumption could be challenged. Moreover, petitioners also claimed that the film’s teaser was being shown without a censor certificate. In response, the filmmakers argued that the teaser’s content does not appear in the film. At this stage, the Court asked, “Can you arrange for a movie watching for tomorrow? If you are saying that the content in the teaser is not in the movie, then there might be a point.” The producers requested time to confirm a date for the screening, while Justice Bechu listed the matters for tomorrow and directed the respondents to file their counter.
CBFC asks for 16 cuts
Meanwhile, according to a report by Bollywood Hungama, the film has been certified by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) with a U/A 16+ rating, subject to 16 cuts/ modifications. These included reducing kissing scenes by 50% (shortened by 7 seconds), halving the visuals of a rape scene (reduced by 20 seconds), trimming two scenes involving physical assault (2 seconds each), modifying the demolition of an accused’s house, altering three dialogues, muting a word, and adding a disclaimer that the film is based on true events. The CBFC also asked the filmmakers to submit the script and proper documentation for the events depicted.
English (US) ·