‘The Kerala Story’ a movie directed by Sudipto Sen has been facing controversies since the release of its trailer. The movie has been banned in several states including West Bengal.
Post the ban, Sudipto Sen has requested Mamta Banerjee to watch the movie. Despite so many backlashes the film has break the record and has been ruling the box office.
Talking about the issue with Mamta Banerjee and the ban in West Bengal, Sudipto told India TV, “It is very unfortunate that Mamata Banerjee without watching the film has banned it. Not a single untoward incident has happened in the state because of the film. The decision to ban the film is politically motivated. I request her to watch the film and then take any decision”, adding that the film was doing very well in West Bengal for the last four days and “it was houseful there.”
He continued, “After the ban decision by Mamata Didi the screening in the movie hall was stopped by some guys mid-way. I am not a politician, I am a filmmaker. I can only make a film, you want to see it or not that you guys will decide. There was no problem when the film was released in Kolkata for four days, suddenly Didi felt that there could be law and order issues”.
“I remember when Padmaavat movie was banned, Mamata Banerjee was the first political leader who came in support of the movie. But don’t know what is the problem with my film that she thought that there is a law and order problem”, he added. Mamata Banerjee had said that The Kerala Story is being banned in the state to “avoid any incident of hatred and violence, and maintain peace in the state. I requested her to watch the film first and not to decide on people’s opinions. You will like the film, you will be proud that the Bengali director made this responsible film”, he added.
“There was a lot of controversy prior the release of the movie, but after that many people who were against the movie have reached us to apologise. After watching the film, everyone started liking the film so much that all the debate ended automatically. There was one problem that too was not a major problem in Tamil Nadu. There was a guy who used to threaten the movie hall owners. Every time, if there is any issue in Tamil Nadu that particular gentleman use to stand by and created problems. After all this, the Tamil Nadu high court allowed us and said there is no logic to ban the film if the censor board has already given the clearance”.