Naseeruddin Shah Calls Success Of ‘The Kerala Story’ “Dangerous Trend”, Says He Doesn’t “Intend To See It”
Naseeruddin Shah opened up about the success of ‘The Kerala Story’. The veteran actor also revealed why he doesn't intend to watch the film.
Adah Sharma’s latest release ‘The Kerala Story’, which received underwhelming reviews from critics, has been performing extraordinarily well at domestic box office and has so far earned Rs 231 crore. The new Hindi movie, also starring Yogita Bihani, Siddhi Idnani and Sonia Balani, has been making headlines ever since the trailer of the Bollywood film released. Everyone is giving their two cents on ‘The Kerala Story’ and the latest one to weigh in on the controversy surrounding the film is veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah.
Naseeruddin Shah, who is known not to mince his words, shared his thoughts on the success ‘The Kerala Story’ during a recent conversation with India Today for the promotion of his OTT show 'Taj: Reign of Revenge'.
The veteran actor said, “Worthwhile films like Bheed, Afwaah, Faraaz, all three collapsed. Nobody went to see them, but they are flocking to see The Kerala Story which I have not seen, and I don’t intend to see because I have read enough about it.”
Naseeruddin Shah called this a “dangerous trend”. The actor stated, “On one hand, it is a dangerous trend, no doubt. We seem to be heading the way of Nazi Germany where in Hitler’s time, the filmmakers were co-opted, attempted to be co-opted, by the supreme leader to make films praising him and what he has done for the countrymen, and running down the Jewish community.”
He added, “So many master filmmakers in Germany left the place, came to Hollywood, and made movies there. Same thing seems to be happening here. Either stay on the right side, be neutral or pro-establishment.”
However, Naseeruddin Shah mentioned that he is hopeful that things will eventually change.
The veteran actor said, “But on the flip side, I have hope that this atmosphere of hate gets fatiguing. How long can you go on spreading hate? I think and I hope that the way it has suddenly engulfed us all, it will also disappear. But it won’t be soon.”
Ever since the trailer of ‘The Kerala Story’ was released, the new Hindi movie has been embroiled in a controversy regarding the subject matter it is trying to portray. 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.
Recently, the Supreme Court also 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 has also stayed West Bengal government's decision to ban the new Hindi movie in the state.
'The Kerala Story' has been directed by Sudipto Sen, while it is bankrolled by Vipul Amrutlal Shah.
