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3 min readFeb 24, 2026 03:43 PM IST
The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond is a sequel to the 2023 film The Kerala Story, which was similarly mired in controversy.
At a press conference in Delhi on Monday, producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah and director Kamakhya Narayan Singh unveiled their upcoming film, The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond. At the event, the filmmakers were joined by 33 women who said they were survivors of forced religious conversions and shared their stories.
While the programme drew attention for its strong claims, none of the 33 women, presented as survivors, were from Kerala or neighbouring southern states.
Speaking at the event, Shah said the new film would extend the conversation beyond the incidents depicted in The Kerala Story, and bring attention to what he described as a nationwide problem. “I often hear people say that love jihad and forced conversions are not happening in India. So, we have brought together victims from all over the country,” he said.
“In our country, there is a narrative going on when The Kerala Story-1 came and the same again… Anyone can say anything to us; we do not care, but all such victims felt more pain when they heard that people were calling them a liar. The same thing happened during The Kerala Story-1, and that time, we called 26 victims from Kerala in Mumbai, but even after hearing the ordeal of all these victims, the ‘eco-system’, who call them liars, did not change their mindset,” he added.
“If you are blind to problems in your state, that’s your responsibility. Our job is to show the problem,” he said.
The women who attended the event belonged to West Bengal, Bihar, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Haryana, Delhi, and the National Capital Region (NCR). Each of them briefly shared their experiences, recounting alleged instances of being deceived, coerced, or pressured into conversion and marriage.
Among those who spoke was national-level shooter Tara Shahdeo from Ranchi. Shahdeo said she married a man who initially introduced himself as Ranjit Kohil but later disclosed his identity as Rakibul Hasan. Shahdeo said she managed to escape the situation and pursued legal action, resulting in the conviction of Hasan and his mother in October 2023.
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Director Singh said the new film aimed to give a voice to women who felt silenced or ignored. “Aisi jitni hazaaro ladkiya hai, jinhe lagta hai ki hum helpless hai. Hum sabke saath khade hai (There are thousands of girls who feel helpless. We stand with them all),” he said.
Last week, the Kerala High Court issued a notice to the producers of The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond in response to a writ petition challenging the film’s certification by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). On Tuesday, the court sought the Centre’s position on whether a screening of the film can be arranged before it decides the pleas challenging its censor certificate for allegedly portraying Kerala in a negative light.
The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond is a sequel to the 2023 film The Kerala Story, which was similarly mired in controversy.
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