The Kerala Story actress Adah Sharma talked about how negative comments made by actors like Naseeruddin Shah and Kamal Haasan did not affect the film which broke many box office records.
For the uninitiated, speaking about The Kerala Story, Kamal Haasan said, “I told you, it's propagandist films that I am against. It's not enough if you write a 'true story' just at the bottom as a logo. It has to really be true and that is not true.” Meanwhile, Naseeruddin Shah also said that it is dangerous that people are watching the film.
While speaking to Jagran, Adah reacted to the comments made ny Kamal Haasan and Naseeruddin Shah and said, “I rejoiced at the freedom of speech we have in our country, where without even watching a film, it can be discredited, labeled and publicly be ripped apart. Anyone can say anything about anybody and can continue to live unharmed; that's the beauty of Bharat. I love my country! People with different ideologies can co-exist. It's wonderful that even after such famous actors made their stance about what they thought of the film clear, the audiences still chose to go to theatres to support a film that stood against terrorism.”
Meanwhile, after Kamal Haasan called The Kerala Story a "propaganda" film at the IIFA Awards in Dubai, the legendary actor also expressed his views on the controversy at the India Today Conclave South 2023. Speaking at the event, when the Vikram actor was asked if he would ban the Adah Sharma-starrer, he said, "I wouldn’t ban any film, let them talk. I would try to tell people to understand the film and what is the purpose of the film. My film was banned in Tamil Nadu, Vishwaroopam. People are still wondering why it was banned. There was a case between Raj Kamal Films and the Tamil Nadu government. We won the case and released the film. I wouldn’t advocate banning any film."
"This country should have free speech. They can certify the film and say certain people could not see the film. Audiences should go to watch a film like The Kerala Story with suspended disbelief and then think", he further added. Talking about the initial claims made by the makers that 32,000 Hindu women in Kerala were forced to convert to Islam and join ISIS, Haasan stated, "I have not seen the film but have heard of what people have spoken of it. From what I could derive, certain things could have happened but you cannot increase or exaggerate numbers or make it look like a national crisis."
READ | Vipul Shah defends The Kerala Story’s '32,000 women converted' claim: 'Topic is not completely over' | Exclusive
