“Film Industry Has Ganged Up”: Sudipto Sen On ‘The Kerala Story’ Getting No OTT Buyers
Sudipto Sen’s ‘The Kerala Story’ is yet to find a streaming platform for the OTT release of the Adah Sharma-starrer despite the movie being a box office success.
Adah Sharma’s latest outing ‘The Kerala Story’ has been in the eye of a storm ever since the trailer of the Sudipto Sen directorial dropped in April with many people calling it a “propaganda” film. ‘The Kerala Story’, which also starred Yogita Bihani, Siddhi Idnani and Sonia Balani, released in May 2023. Despite being initially banned in West Bengal and having fared poorly in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the new Hindi movie minted more than Rs 200 crore at the box office.
While many slammed the film for its content, ‘The Kerala Story’ received support from state governments of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Uttarakhand as it was declared tax free in these states. The film's theatrical run is now coming to an end and it is looking for digital partners.
However, it was recently reported that the film is facing a tough time cracking a favourable deal with streaming platforms.
In an interview with Rediff, Sudipto Sen spoke about the Adah Sharma-starrer not getting suitable offers from any OTT platforms. The filmmaker also accused Bollywood of ganging up against them to punish them for the box office success.
“We still haven’t got a suitable offer from any OTT platform for The Kerala Story,” said Sudipto Sen.
He added, “We are still waiting for a good workable deal from any of the main OTT platforms. But so far, we have not got any offer worth considering. It seems the film industry has ganged up to punish us.”
“Our box office success has irked many sections of the film industry. We have a feeling that a section of the entertainment industry has united to punish us for our success,” the filmmaker further said.
Vipul Shah and Sudipto Sen, who recently collaborated on the film ‘The Kerala Story’, are currently working on a new project titled ‘Bastar’.
The announcement was posted on the Twitter page of Vipul Shah's Sunshine Pictures, the production company for the upcoming film. The movie will hit theatres on April 5, 2024.
Unveiling our next, #Bastar. Prepare to witness another gripping true incident that will leave you speechless. Mark your calendars for April 5, 2024!#VipulAmrutlalShah @sudiptoSENtlm @Aashin_A_Shah#SunshinePictures pic.twitter.com/3qQVxKpCcG
— Sunshine Pictures (@sunshinepicture) June 26, 2023
Coming back to ‘The Kerala Story’, the new Hindi movie got embroiled in a controversy regarding the subject matter it was trying to portray in its trailer. The trailer originally stated that the film is based on the stories of more than 32,000 Kerala women who have allegedly been radicalised by Islamic fundamentalists.
The Supreme Court later ordered the makers of ‘The Kerala Story’ to add a disclaimer stating that the new Hindi movie tells a "fictionalised" account of events and there is no official data to back the claim of 32,000 women in Kerala being forcefully converted into Islam and joining the ISIS terror group.
As per NDTV, the Supreme Court also stayed West Bengal government's decision to ban the new Hindi movie in the state.
