The Kerala Story was released amid multiple controversies yesterday to strong numbers and became one of the biggest openers of 2023. The movie reportedly brought in between Rs 7.50-8 crore on the first day making it the fifth-highest opening for a Hindi film in 2023.
The film managed to get a higher box office collection than even movies like megastar Akshay Kumar starrer Selfie, and Karthik Aryan’s Shahzada. In fact, the movie beat even last year’s blockbuster ‘The Kashmir Files’ when it came to the first day’s collections.
The multilingual project, featuring Adah Sharma and written and directed by Sudipto Sen, has garnered a lot of attention and has been in the news since the makers released its trailer.
Even though the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) determined it was appropriate for public viewing, numerous petitions asking for a ban on its release were filed.
The Supreme Court, on Thursday, refused to entertain a plea against the film. The Madras High Court on Thursday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation seeking a ban on its release. On Friday, a division bench of the Kerala High Court rejected a petition for the same.
The film’s story revolves around Shalini Unnikrishnan, played by Adah Sharma, an innocent Hindu woman from Kerala, who is brainwashed by her Muslim friends and gets converted to Islam and marries a Muslim. She later travels to ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) also known as IS (Islamic State) controlled area with her spouse.