Mumbai, February 26 – Actress-director Nandita Das has condemned the "restrictive" censorship on the upcoming film, "The Kerala Story 2 – Goes Beyond".
The actress attended the "Sashakt Nari, Vikshit Bharat" event organized by the Chintan Research Foundation. During the event, she spoke with IANS and shared her thoughts on the stay order issued by the Kerala High Court regarding the film's release.
She told IANS, "I believe that censorship is detrimental to any form of art. It is crucial that art is given freedom. Some good work will emerge, some bad work will emerge, but that is how individuals and societies become more discerning. That is how we differentiate between good and bad. Time is the ultimate judge of any work of art; something that stands the test of time will always have depth."
"In this process, there will be a lot of irrelevant content, and we need to learn to ignore it, but I am definitely against censorship for any form of art," she added.
Earlier in the day, the makers of the upcoming film, "The Kerala Story 2 – Goes Beyond", approached the Supreme Court after the Kerala High Court had granted an interim stay on the film's release on Thursday.
The Kerala High Court noted that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) had not properly assessed the film while issuing certification. Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas passed the stay order while hearing two petitions challenging the film's release.
The court noted that the guidelines intended to prevent disruption of social harmony had not been followed by the CBFC.
"The Kerala Story 2 – Goes Beyond" was scheduled for release on Friday. In an affidavit filed on Wednesday, producer Vipul Shah stated that only the censor board has the authority to halt a film's release. The film is a sequel to the National Award-winning "The Kerala Story", which was released in 2023.
