India’s Kerala High Court has blocked the release of The Kerala Story 2 – Goes Beyond just one day before its scheduled February 27 premiere, ruling that the country’s film certification board failed to properly assess whether the movie threatens public order and communal harmony.
Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas issued a 15-day stay on the film’s release on February 26, ordering India’s Central Government to review a revision petition challenging the certification within two weeks. The film cannot be released for public viewing during this period.
The decision comes after two residents of Kerala, a southern Indian coastal state known for its religious diversity and high literacy rates, filed separate petitions arguing that the sequel to 2023’s controversial “The Kerala Story” denigrates their home state while claiming without evidence that it serves as a hub for Islamic extremism.
The state is currently governed by a communist coalition opposed to India’s ruling party, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Kerala’s BJP president has defended the filmmakers’ right to make the movie while saying he personally had no interest in watching it.
What The Court Found Problematic
Unlike the United States, where the film industry self-regulates through the MPAA rating system and First Amendment protections, India maintains government-run prior censorship of films before release.
The court identified specific content from the film’s trailer that violates certification standards. The opening card states that the film is “Inspired by true events.” One dialogue features a character stating “Our mission is to convert Hindu girls.” A title card proclaims “And Sharia law will be enforced across all of India.” The Central Government’s counsel conceded in court that these scenes are part of the actual film and were not subjected to any cuts by the censor board.
Justice Thomas wrote that the court cannot substitute its judgment for the regulatory body’s expertise, but added that “if the very content in the teaser itself, which is conceded to be part of the movie, has a prima facie potential to distort public perception and disturb communal harmony,” then a comprehensive reassessment may be necessary.
The Petitioners’ Arguments
According to court documents reviewed by this author, the two men who filed the petitions argued they have personal stakes in challenging the film beyond general public interest. One petitioner, who lives in Kerala, claimed the film’s stereotyping and stigmatic portrayal of his state directly affects his regional identity and fundamental right to reputation, and the second, who works in Spain, stated that the first “Kerala Story” film subjected him to “severe racial profiling” abroad.
The First Film’s Controversy
The Kerala Story 2 is the sequel to 2023’s The Kerala Story, which became one of India’s most controversial films while also emerging as a significant commercial success, earning over $30 million at the Indian box office.
The original movie claimed 32,000 women from Kerala had been converted to Islam through ‘love jihad’, a term used by Hindu nationalist groups to describe an alleged conspiracy in which Muslim men seduce Hindu women to convert them. Supporters of the film argue such conversions do occur, while critics say the term is used to vilify interfaith relationships.
The film depicted women being romantically entrapped, forcibly converted, and recruited as terrorists for ISIS. According to the U.S. State Department’s 2020 Country Reports on Terrorism, there were 66 known Indian-origin fighters affiliated with ISIS as of November 2020, though the report does not specify how many were from Kerala or women.
After legal challenges reached India’s Supreme Court, producers agreed to add a disclaimer stating “there is no authentic data to justify any figure of conversion and that the film represents a fictionalised account of events.”
Despite the controversy, the first film was a box office hit. Several BJP-governed states gave government employees paid leave to watch it and five states offered tax breaks for theaters showing it, treating it as educational content about Islamic extremism. Opposition politicians like Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan andd Congress leader KC Venugopal described it ‘hate propaganda’ designed to demonize Muslims ahead of India’s 2024 national elections.
The Kerala Story 2 was set to release ahead of elections in the state of Kerala. The description for its trailer includes the hashtags #ShowYourDaughters and the caption, “They targeted our daughters. They broke their trust. They stole their futures. This time, we do not stay silent. The story goes beyond. Is bar sahenge nahi… ladenge [this time we will not tolerate it…we will fight].”
Why Certification Failed
India’s Central Board of Film Certification granted the sequel a UA 16+ certificate (roughly equivalent to PG-13). The board stated the film “instead of offending religious sentiments only instills faith and conceptual values and ethos among women apart from conveying a message about the importance of choosing the right partner.”
Justice Thomas disagreed. The ruling states that “prima facie, these guidelines do not seem to have been borne in mind by CBFC while granting certification, and there is a manifest disregard of the applicable law, necessitating this Court to interfere.”
The film’s producer, Vipul Amrutlal Shah of Sunshine Pictures, opposed the stay through senior counsel, arguing that restraining the release would “visit irreversible economic harm” on the production company.
Shah is a prominent Bollywood producer whose previous films include Namastey London and Force. His company has invested significant resources in the sequel, anticipating similar box office success to the first film.
The Broader Context: Films And Religious Politics In India
The Kerala Story franchise exists within a larger trend of Bollywood films addressing Islamic extremism and Hindu-Muslim relations from perspectives that have drawn both support and criticism across India’s political spectrum. Recent years have seen films like The Kashmir Files (2022), which depicted the 1990 exodus of Kashmiri Hindus and became a major commercial success with explicit government support from BJP-led states.
These films have become flashpoints in India’s culture wars, with supporters arguing they tell previously suppressed truths about Islamic extremism and violence against Hindus, while critics contend they spread misinformation and fuel hatred against India’s Muslim minority at a time when religious polarization is intensifying.
Unlike in the United States, where controversial films might face boycott campaigns or protests but rarely government intervention, India’s system allows for pre-release censorship and post-release bans if authorities determine content threatens public order. Several Indian states banned the BBC documentary India: The Modi Question in 2023.
Why This Matters For India’s Religious Climate
Justice Thomas cited a 1989 Indian Supreme Court decision noting that while one movie on a social issue may not significantly affect public attitudes, “continual exposure to films of a similar character will produce a change.” The court wrote that “the repeated portrayal of the theme in a second movie almost of the same name and concept…can have a tendency to create contempt for a religious group in the State and to the State itself, tend to promote communal and even fanatical attitudes and even endanger public order.”
The ruling cited a January 2026 Indian Supreme Court decision stating that “it is constitutionally impermissible for anyone, through any medium, to vilify and denigrate any community or target any particular community, on the basis of religion, language, caste or region.”
India has experienced numerous incidents of communal violence between religious groups; in 2002, riots in Gujarat killed over 1,000 people — 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus — following a train fire that killed 59 Hindu pilgrims.
What Happens Next
The Union of India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting must now review the revision petition within two weeks. The case returns to the Kerala High Court on March 12, 2026.
Several outcomes are possible. The government could uphold the original certification, require modifications such as removing the “inspired by true events” tagline or cutting inflammatory dialogues, or revoke certification entirely. The producers could appeal any adverse decision to India’s Supreme Court.
For American observers, the case offers insight into how the world’s largest democracy navigates tensions between free speech and social harmony in ways that differ dramatically from First Amendment protections in the United States.
