Shabana Azmi, a veteran Bollywood actress, has come out in support of the recently released film ‘The Kerala Story’, which has been embroiled in controversies. The film stars Adah Sharma and has faced backlash due to its controversial trailer that claims 32,000 girls from Kerala went missing and joined the ISIS terrorist group.
Shabana on Monday tweeted that those who want to ban the film are “as wrong as those who wanted to ban” the Aamir Khan-starrer ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ last year.
She tweeted “Those who speak of banning #The Kerala Story are as wrong as those who wanted to ban Aamir Khan’s #Laal Singh Chaadha. Once a film has been passed by the Central Board of Film Certification, nobody has the right to become an extra constitutional authority.”
‘The Kerala Story’ has been written and directed by Sudipto Sen and features Adah Sharma in the lead role of Fathima Ba, a Hindu Malayali nurse who was forced to convert to Islam and later recruited to ISIS. The film also stars Yogita Bihani, Siddhi Idnani and Sonia Balani in prominent roles.
It is worth mentioning that ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ faced a similar fate last year, as it was boycotted by a section of people on social media platforms. Shabana Azmi’s tweet highlights the importance of respecting the CBFC’s certification process and refraining from extra-constitutional attempts to ban films.