The director of "The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond", Kamakhya Narayan Singh, has made a bold declaration ahead of the release of the movie on Feb. 27. Singh, in an interaction with the press, said he'll quit filmmaking if it is proved that whatever they've depicted in the movie is wrong.
'The Kerala Story 2' has already attracted a lot of spirited reactions online, from both its defenders and detractors, before even seeing the movie, as it was evident from the trailer that the script, which the makers claim is backed up by "research", has been called out for its hate-mongering and propagandist nature.
According to the makers, the film explores themes of religious conversion and coercion. It is reportedly set in Kerala, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
Defending his choice to do the film, Singh told ANI: "I have been a documentary filmmaker. I have always made documentaries and films that address social evils and issues within society, films that raise questions and encourage people to reflect on what is happening around them. That is why I always conduct deep research to understand a problem thoroughly before releasing a film or documentary. I have done my work with complete integrity, trust me. If we have shown anything wrong in the film, I will quit filmmaking."
Ulka Gupta, Aditi Bhatia and Aishwarya Ojha play the lead roles in "The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond".
The first "Kerala Story", directed by Sudipto Sen, won two National Film Awards — Best Direction and Best Cinematography. The film received an extremely poor reception across theatres in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and the decision to give it the National Awards was questioned by many netizens, politicians and celebrities.