Adah Sharma's controversial film The Kerala Story, directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Shah, was screened in the UK on May 19. However, the screening of the film was disrupted by Muslim activists who also bullied the viewers.
For those unversed, shows of The Kerala Story were cancelled in the UK last week as the film had not received an age classification from the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). Reportedly, the body later gave the film '18' rating along with a detailed content advice to those watching the film.
Screening of The Kerala Story disrupted in UK
Now, several videos from the UK screening of the film have surfaced on social media. In the now-viral clips, Muslim activists, led by Shakeel Afsar, are trying to disrupt the show.
They are seen barging into the theatre in Birmingham, shouting and bullying the audience. However, when the audience refused to be cowed down and shouted back at the activists, they backed down and were escorted out of the cinema hall.
On May 20, Shakeel re-shared a video of the chaos during the film's screening on Twitter and wrote, "Extremists BJP/HINDUTVA Propaganda Has No Place in The UK."
While The Kerala Story claims to show the stories of girls who were allegedly lured by the ISIS, there has been opposition to the film from opposition parties and activists in India.
Shows cancelled in UK
Last week, the screenings of The Kerala Story in Hindi, Tamil, and Malayalam, scheduled across 31 cinemas in the UK, were cancelled. According to media reports, cinema websites stopped ticket sales and initiated refunds for the cancelled shows.
The move, however, was met with massive outrage from several Indians in the UK. Some social media users had also claimed that the BBFC was deliberately withholding the film to pander to "certain groups."
The Kerala Story Controversy
The film depicts how women from Kerala were forcefully tricked through love jihad, impregnated, and trafficked to Iraq and Syria to join the ISIS.
The film has found itself at the centre of controversies ever since its trailer was released and several political leaders have accused the film of being aimed at spreading hate in the country.
Directed by Sudipto Sen, the film stars Adah Sharma in the lead role. It hit the big screens on May 5 in India and has already earned Rs 175 crore at the box office.
