Kerala High Court has expressed concern over the evasive attitude of the producers regarding the screening of ‘Kerala Story-2: Goes Beyond’. Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas said that the makers do not seem interested in screening the film for the court. Kerala High Court is hearing the petitions filed against giving censor approval to the film. Three petitions have been filed in this matter.
According to the Bar & Bench report, the judge told the makers, ‘You seem unwilling to show the film to the court. You want the issue to be decided on the basis of whether the petition is private or public. Among the petitions that the High Court was hearing on Tuesday (February 24, 2026), there has been a demand to ban the release of the film and reject the certificate given by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The petitioners allege that the image of Kerala has been tarnished in the film, which may create tension and disharmony.
During the morning hearing, the court expressed its desire to watch the film as the judge agreed with the petitioner’s arguments that the makers claim that the film is based on a true incident and the name of the state has been used in it. At that time the makers also said that they could screen the film for the court. When the hearing was held again after lunch, the makers’ lawyer S Sreekumar said that first the court should decide whether the petition is private or public. On this the judge said that the makers do not seem willing to screen the film for the court.
The court said it will hear the case again on Wednesday and then it will decide whether to watch the film before its scheduled release on February 27. The court also asked the Censor Board whether the film complied with all the mandatory guidelines. One of the three petitions has been filed by Sridev Namboodiri, a resident of Kannavam in Kannur district, who has named the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah as respondents in the writ petition filed last week.
Apart from canceling the certification of the film, the petition has also requested for some amendments including reconsideration of its name. The petitioner has claimed that the film was given a certificate for public exhibition by the CBFC without proper compliance with the statutory order under the Cinematograph Act, 1952.
According to the petition, the complaint arises out of the teaser and trailer of the film, which depicts stories related to women from multiple states, yet the content has been promoted as ‘The Kerala Story’, thereby linking incidents of terrorism, forced conversion and demographic conspiracy exclusively to the state of Kerala.
“Such depictions have the potential to tarnish the population of the entire region, disturb public order and incite communal and regional disharmony,” the petition said.
