Plea filed in Kerala High Court alleging 'The Kerala Story 2' movie promotes false narrative about Malayalis

A petition has been filed before the Kerala High Court seeking cancellation of film certification and a stay on the release of the upcoming film 'The Kerala Story 2 - Goes Beyond' [Sreedev Namboodiri v Union of India & ors]..The petition filed by by a Kannur native Sreedev Namboodiri has alleged that the film portrays Kerala in an unfair manner by inciting communal and regional disharmony and could lead to law and order issues.The matter was heard today by Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas who issued notice to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and producer Sunshine Pictures and asked them to file their responses.The matter will be heard next on February 24 (Tuesday)..'The Kerala Story 2' is the sequel to the controversial Hindi film 'The Kerala story'. The first film had depicted a group of women from Kerala, who were allegedly recruited into the Islamic state of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).Namboodiri in his petition has challenged the certification granted to the sequel, arguing that the CBFC failed to properly assess the impact of the movie on public order, decency and morality as required under Section 5B of the Cinematograph Act of 1952."The petitioner apprehends that the upcoming movie will also create a law and order situation, as the teaser, in the end, gives a message ‘ab sahenge nahin… ladenge’ which translates to ‘we will not tolerate it anymore, but will fight’. This is precisely calling for action, which might invoke violence among the public. The trailer of the movie was released on 17.02.2026, which again tries to provoke sentiments of the general public in several spheres," the petition states. According to the plea, certain dialogues and themes in the promotional material that have the potential to inside communal tensions.As per the petition, the teaser and trailer depict women from multiple States but label the narrative as 'The Kerala Story' thereby associating terrorism and forced conversion exclusively to the State of Kerala.This creates a misleading regional association and undermines the dignity and reputation of Keralaties (citizens of kerala), potentially infringing their constitutional rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution and further violating the reasonable restrictions to freedom of speech under article 19(1)(a) of the constitution..The petitioner has therefore sought quashing of the film certification, suspension of the film's release pending consideration of his revision petition or directions for modifications to the film, including reconsideration of the title and insertion of adequate disclaimers to prevent regional vilification..The petition has been moved by advocates Maitreyi Sachchidananda Hegde, Rizla KM, Deepika K Sasi..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.