However, while most of the halls in Bengal have refused to screen ‘The Kerala Story’, one single screen in North 24 Parganas’ Bongaon has started showing the film. According to reports, they are having almost houseful shows and there’s a huge response from the audience. Interestingly, ‘The Kerala Story’ music director Bishakh Jyoti hails from Bongaon and he’s super excited to know that Sreema Hall is finally showing ‘The Kerala Story’ despite all the controversies and alleged threat calls.
“I am so happy that a cinema hall from my city is showing our film while most of the halls across Bengal are still reluctant to give space to ‘The Kerala Story’. I have heard that distributors and hall owners are getting calls and being said not to screen the film. I think not only Sreema but perhaps a few other theatres, especially single-screen theatres, have also started showing the film. We are hopeful that soon it will be shown in many more halls in West Bengal,” Bishakh Jyoti shared with ETimes.
For the unversed, the Supreme Court had stayed the ban imposed by the West Bengal government on ‘The Kerala Story’ on May 18. But, despite the apex court’s order, the movie is still absent in most of the cinema halls in the state. As per reports, the state government is yet to issue any new circular.
During a press conference in Kolkata last Friday, the director of the movie, Sudipto Sen, claimed that he has been informed by many hall owners that they are being threatened “by certain quarters” and have been asked not to screen the film.
Meanwhile, despite several controversies ‘The Kerala Story’ has proven successful at the box office. So far, the film has earned Rs 203.47 crore at the domestic box office, since its release on May 5. However, the Adah Sharma-starrer’s collection saw a slight dip on its third Monday. Still, going by the box office trend the Sudipto Sen directorial has achieved the blockbuster status.
