Sudipto Sen Hits Back At Vipul Shah For ‘Lying’ About His Exit From The Kerala Story 2: ‘Maybe He Was Not Confident’ | FPJ Exclusive

Filmmaker Sudipto Sen has finally broken his silence on his fallout with producer-filmmaker Vipul Amrutlal Shah over The Kerala Story 2. Months after reports of creative differences and public remarks from both sides sparked controversy, Sen has now claimed that Shah “lied” about the reason behind his exit from the sequel and insisted that he stepped away because he did not want to make a film based on “WhatsApp forwards.”

For those unaware, Sen had directed the first The Kerala Story, which became one of the most talked-about and controversial films of 2023. However, he did not return for the sequel. Reports later suggested tensions between Sen and Shah after the producer allegedly termed Sen’s script “trashy,” while Sen maintained that he could not back a story he wasn’t fully researched about. In an exclusive interaction with The Free Press Journal, the filmmaker has now revealed what exactly went wrong behind the scenes and also admitted that he “did not like” the second part of the film.

Explaining how things began to fall apart creatively, Sudipto revealed that the original plan for the sequel changed midway, and that became the turning point for him. “Vipul Ji decided that Kerala Story 2 will not be only Kerala story. It will be the story of Rajasthan, it will be the story of Madhya Pradesh. So then I stepped out because it’s a very sensitive issue… Kerala, I know. I worked for 10 years. I can prove every word I spoke about Kerala. But Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh - my knowledge is all about WhatsApp forwards and newspapers, and I don’t want to make films on WhatsApp forwards.”

While maintaining that he still respects Vipul Shah, Sudipto admitted he was hurt by the producer’s public statements about why he left the film. “Later I saw that Vipulji said something which is a lie… He should have spoken the truth, but he had chosen to tell the lie because maybe he was not confident about the second part. What I’m annoyed with Vipul Ji is that he didn’t value the impact of the movie and how it belonged to history. When everyone is watching you, you should be careful."

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Sudipto also candidly admitted that he was not impressed with the second part of The Kerala Story and explained why he disagrees with the broader “love jihad” narrative often associated with the film. “I did not like it, honestly. I have a problem with the word love jihad also, because historically India is a place where Hindus and Muslims coexist. Hindu getting married to Muslim or Muslim getting married to Hindu is not a new thing in India. It is part of our cultural beauty. My issue was the manipulative conversion. If it is love, then where does conversion come from? Kareena Kapoor did not change her religion, right?”