High Court bans the release of ‘The Kerala Story 2’, instead of 27th February it will now knock on this day

New Delhi: The film ‘The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond’ was scheduled to be released in theaters on 27 February 2026, but the Kerala High Court put an interim stay on it on Thursday. Now the film will not be released until the hearing in the court is completed and the final decision is taken. This decision has come on the petitions filed against the controversial film.

allegations against the film

The petitioners alleged that the film depicts the state of Kerala in a wrong light. They say it creates a wrong image about Kerala and may disturb communal harmony.

Several petitions were filed against the U/A certificates given by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The petitioners say that the board did not investigate properly and did not follow the guidelines while granting certification.

Court statement on the allegation

During the hearing, a single bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas said that it seems that the CBFC did not pay proper attention while giving the certificate to the film. The court considered the concerns of the petitioners as ‘probably genuine’. The court ordered CBFC to reconsider the petitions within two weeks and take a new decision.

During this period, there will be a ban on the release and distribution rights of the film. The court accepted that if the film is released then the petitions will have no meaning.

Makers’ decision

The lawyers appearing in the court on behalf of the film’s producer Vipul Amritlal Shah and director Sudipto Sen denied pre-screening or changing the title. The court clearly told the makers not to release the film until the hearing is completed. The makers are now planning to appeal against this order.

background of the film

The first film ‘The Kerala Story’ was also in a lot of controversies. The second film has been titled ‘Goes Beyond’, which means the story now moves beyond Kerala, but the petitioners believe that the name itself is defaming Kerala. The matter was now kept for further hearing on February 26, but an interim stay was granted on Thursday. This decision remains a topic of discussion in the film industry.

Questions are also being raised on the role of the censor board. Now everyone’s eyes are on what decision CBFC takes in two weeks and whether the film will finally be released or not.