Thiruvananthapuram/Kochi/Kozhikode, February 28 A day after the Kerala High Court paved the way for the release of 'The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond', ticket sales remained slow, although theatre owners said they were expected to pick up in the coming days.
Meanwhile, activists of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) staged protests outside theatres screening the film across the state, saying they would not allow its screening as it allegedly depicts Kerala in a bad light.
The protests led to the cancellation of shows in several theatres in Kochi, Kozhikode, and Kottayam.
DYFI leaders said they were not against moviegoers or theatre owners, but were protesting against the film for allegedly tarnishing the state’s image.
Visuals on television channels showed protesters shouting slogans and tearing down posters at theatres screening the film.
Ticket sales did not show significant improvement during the day, except in a few theatres, according to cinema hall owners.
In Kochi, Shenoy Theatre, which witnessed protests in the morning, saw some improvement in bookings later in the day, its owner Suresh said.
In Kozhikode, Crown Theatre owner Vinod Iyer said the noon show had only around 20–25 bookings, and subsequent screenings were cancelled due to protests.
He added that ticket sales did not improve during the day, and a decision on evening shows was yet to be taken in view of the protests.
In Kottayam, a show at Anaswara Theatre was stopped by DYFI protesters, with only 24 people turning up for the screening. Evening and night shows were later cancelled.
According to figures on the online ticket booking platform BookMyShow, sales were very low in several theatres in Thiruvananthapuram in the morning.
At a PVR theatre in Lulu Mall, there were only 68 bookings till 10 am for the four shows scheduled for the day. Suresh said there were around 50 per cent bookings in the morning for the four shows scheduled during the day.
“The bookings are higher for the evening and night shows,” he told
