Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced Monday that her government was banning the controversial movie The Kerala Story. West Bengal is the second state after Tamil Nadu to ban the screening of The Kerala Story. Mamata Banerjee while talking to reporters at the state secretariat Nabanna here said that the decision to ban the movie was taken as it could create communal disharmony.
“Some of the scenes shown in the movie can disrupt peace and create communal disharmony. So our government has taken the decision to ban the film, The Kerala Story,” Banerjee told reporters. “The movie will not be screened in any hall or multiplexes in Bengal,” Banerjee added.
Banerjee described The Kerala Story as a distorted movie, aimed at defaming the southern state. “To avoid any incident of hatred and violence and to maintain peace in the state, the CM has directed an immediate ban on screening of The Kerala Story. Action will be taken against any cinema hall that violates the ban,” a senior bureaucrat said.
The Kerala Story, directed by Sudipto Sen, depicts how women from Kerala were converted to Islam and recruited by Islamic State terrorist group. The film was released May 5.
It should be stated here that even though West Bengal and Tamil Nadu governments have banned the Sudipto Sen-directed The Kerala Story, the BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government has announced that the movie will be tax-free in the state. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has praised the film.
Against this backdrop while talking about the movie, Banerjee said that some political parties are playing with the lives of people by allowing the screening of such movies. While talking about The Kerala Story, she also blasted the makers of The Kashmir Files. She stated that such movies will create religious and caste divide and that will be dangerous for the country.