STALIN GOVT DENIES BAN ON 'THE KERALA STORY', SAYS SCREENING STOPPED DUE TO POOR PERFORMANCE

In a plea filed by the makers of the controversial movie 'The Kerala Story' against the alleged 'shadow ban' of the movie in the State of Tamil Nadu, the state of Tamil Nadu has filed a counter affidavit refuting the claims of the makers and stating that they have made deliberate false statements implying that Tamil Nadu has prevented the public exhibition of the film. 

As per the affidavit, the film in Hindi was released in 19 multiplexes in the state of Tamil Nadu on its release date, that is, May 5 2023. Additionally, there was no order banning the screening of the film in the State and the State has taken all steps to safeguard the freedom of speech and expression of the makers of the movie as guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India. However, as per the affidavit, Multiplex owners themselves took the decision to stop screening the film from May 7 2023 in view of "the criticism received by it/ lack of well-known actors/poor performance/Poor audience response."

  Submitting that the state exercises no control in the decisions of the multiplex owners and screening the film, the affidavit reiterates that the petitioners, under the garb of the petition, or trying to gain publicity for their film and misusing the process of the court.