“Kerala Story” wins critics, audiences; sparks debates. Packed theaters, strong first day collections. Rave reviews, controversy help. Gripping, says audience.
Jamshedpur: “The Kerala Story,” is growing bigger in size as the debates and controversies centered around it get more and more intense.
The movie had a decent collection on the first day.
Although the final numbers are yet to come,it is estimated that it may have collected around 8 cr on the very first day.
It has been billed a powerful and thought-provoking film and has received rave reviews from both critics and audiences, leading to packed theaters and strong box office numbers in most of the towns and cities..
Movie critic and biz analyst Taran Adarsh gave the movie a rare 4-star rating, praising its boldness, blunt storytelling, and hard-hitting themes.
He has also given it a rating of 4-star. And it says something about the movie, because Taran Adarsh usually does not give such ratings easily.
Audiences in Jamshedpur and other areas have also responded positively, with premium tickets selling out even for late-night shows.
The movie is also doing extremely well elsewhere.
The film has generated intense debates on news channels, with commentators such as JNU scientist Anand Ranganathan and Supreme Court lawyer J Sai Deepak weighing in on its controversial themes.
Ranganathan argued that the film reflects the reality of forced conversion, ISIS, and Kerala Muslims fighting for ISIS.
The JNU scientist and commentator Anand Ranganathan, known for his now famous 30-seconds repartees on Times Now has said in a debate on Times Now channel: “The Kerala Story is a reality. Because forced conversion is a reality. Because ISIS is a reality. Because Kerala Muslims rushing off to fight for ISIS is a reality. For how long will we as a nation refuse to address this reality?”
On the other hand, Deepak emphasized that the focus should be on the reality of the issue rather than the numbers, and that it is not about Islam or Muslims but about ISIS.
The Supreme Court lawyer said on The Kerala Story controversy: “Let’s not talk about numbers, forget 32,000. If there were 320 or even 32 isn’t it happening in Kerala?? There have been not more than 10-15 lynchings but wasn’t a big story made out of it?? India was called a Lynchistan…said J Sai Deepak very rightly. The Catholic Church came forward & said there’s narcotics & love j!had, victims have come forward, there are ashram’s doing rehabilitation work there so why aren’t we looking at the reality?? It’s not about Islam or Muslims, it’s about ISIS.”
Despite the ongoing controversy, common viewers have praised the film’s storyline and direction.
Shayan Ali, a free-thinker and a Pakistani by birth, Indian by heart, and American by choice, called for the movie’s release in American cinemas to raise awareness of the struggles faced by Hindu women in the Sub-Continent.
As positive reviews continue to pour in, it seems that “The Kerala Story” is likely to grow in popularity and become a significant success.
The movie is likely to see an uptick in the collections during the weekend too.
A public review program done by FilmiFever showed a major part of the audience saying that the movie is gripping and disturbing.
Many also said that everyone should watch this movie with family members.
The movie itself continues to be debated intensely on news channels and this seems to be helping the movie gain in popularity..
While the controversy over the movie continues, the common viewers have praised the storyline and the direction.
It would be interesting to see what final collections on the box office the movie succeeds in mustering.
