‘Thank you for including me in your success’

The Kerala Story is the second Hindi film to earn Rs 200 crore net at the domestic box office after Pathaan and continues to draw audiences to theaters. The film has been mired in controversy over its dubious claim that 32,000 Hindu women in Kerala have been forcibly converted to Islam in recent years.

The film was also banned in West Bengal by the Mamata Banerjee government before the Supreme Court suspended the ban and multiplex owners in Tamil Nadu refused to screen the film. It is also referred to as a “piece of propaganda” by several political leaders, including Kerala’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Despite such opposition, The Kerala Story turned out to be a huge success. Adah Sharma, who headlines the film, wrote a heartfelt note on his Instagram praising Indian audiences for making the film “a huge blockbuster”. She also shared that she saw the video of people going from Bengal to Assam to watch her movie at the theatre.

Sharing some footage from the film, Adah wrote, “Congratulations to the Indian public! Congratulations to all of you who have held up billboards, painted art, posted videos, spread the word, traveled across the states (watched the video of the rented bus to go from Bengal to Assam to watch TKS in a cinema) Your movie #TheKeralaStory is a huge blockbuster thank you for including me in your success.”

“It’s heartwarming to see that even internationally, #TheKeralaStory is touching the hearts of so many. It’s only been two days in the UK. The US, Canada, Australia and more other countries… have also read your posts,” the actress, who has previously been featured in Commando 2 and Commando 3, concluded.

Apart from Adah Sharma, The Kerala Story also stars Yogita Bihani, Siddhi Idnani, Sonia Balani, Vijay Krishna, Pranay Pachauri and Pranav Misshra in key supporting roles. The controversial film is directed by Suipto Sen and produced by Vipul Shah under his Sunshine Pictures Pvt Ltd banner.

READ | Ram Gopal Varma says The Kerala Story will ‘haunt’ every corporate house in Bollywood: ‘Hard to copy the truth’