The Kerala Story: The Supreme Court of India has considered banning the latest Hindi film ‘The Kerala Story’ by the Government of West Bengal. The film, which released last Friday, was banned in the state and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted that this was done to maintain law and order. Now, the SC has issued a notice to the West Bengal government asking why the film has been banned there if the film is running smoothly in the rest of the country.
On Friday, the Supreme Court heard the plea of the makers of The Kerala Story against the ban. Issuing notice to the state government, the top court asked the government, “The film is being screened all over the country, why should the West Bengal government ban the film, why shouldn’t you allow it to run?”
According to a Mint report, presiding over the case, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said, “”the film is running in different parts of the country with similar demographic profiles. It has nothing to do with the cinematic value of the film, be it good or bad.
‘The Kerala Story’ protested in Tamil Nadu as well
The SC also took note of the de facto ban on the film in Tamil Nadu, where theater owners pulled the film citing law and order concerns and low footfalls. According to media reports, the CJI asked the Tamil Nadu government, “We want to know… what are the specific administrative arrangements made by you… because in my view, the state government cannot say that we will look the other way when people attack. ” Burn the theatre, chairs…”
On Monday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had ordered a ban on the film in the state, citing law and order concerns. The Tamil Nadu Theater and Multiplex Owners’ Association withdrew it from multiplexes the next day.
Also read: Amid controversies, the team of ‘The Kerala Story’ meets CM Yogi