Kerala theatre owners are undeterred by the negative publicity brought on by the divisive Hindi film, “The Kerala Story,” which is scheduled to be screened on Friday in about 30 screens throughout the state.
Despite the film receiving a lot of negative press, theatre owners reported that bookings for it were average. However, they remained unconvinced that there would be any protests or other negative reactions.
Suresh Shenoy, owner of eight theatres in Kochi spoke to PTI, “We do not expect any kind of protests against the film. It is unlikely.”
He claimed that the movie, which would be shown at the cinema as “small Hindi films” aligned with the typical bookings.
He recalled how The Kashmir Files, another contentious movie that had garnered a lot of negative press, had begun slowly in the state before becoming a big success.
“Same might happen in this case too. Let us see,” Shenoy reaffirmed.
Similar sentiments were expressed by Joy Pillai, owner of the Thiruvananthapuram multiplex Arielplex, who expressed his lack of concern for both demonstrations and average attendance.
“It is a small Hindi film. Post-Covid, turnout for Hindi films has been low. Pathaan was the only exception,” he said.
Shenoy and Pillai both believed that the movie would have gone unnoticed if it hadn’t received negative exposure as a result of condemnation from political parties and organisations.
According to Mukesh Mehta of E4 Entertainment, who is assisting with the film’s distribution in Kerala, the movie would be screened on perhaps 20 to 30 screens throughout the state because it is a Hindi film with a small audience.
Mehta said no one has been pushed or coerced to display the movie in their theatres in response to a question about whether theatre owners were reluctant to exhibit the film in light of the resistance to it particularly from certain political groups and organisations.
“They are free to show it or not,” he averred. “We will have to wait and see what happens tomorrow. We will only know tomorrow who all will screen the film”.
‘The Kerala Story’, features Adah Sharma is set to release on May 5. It is written and helmed by Sudipto Sen.
