Seems like obstacles won’t be stopping for The Kerala Story anytime soon! After facing bans and controversies in India, the movie is now facing a challenge in Britain as the film is forced to pull down its shows after the authorities failed to give it an age certificate.
The Kerala Story pulled down from theatres in UK
A certain section in UK is furious after The Kerala Story was pulled down from screens everywhere. Out of the blue, all shows were cancelled and the people who had purchased tickets were refunded. As per an email sent to them, it read, “Due to the lack of age certification for The Kerala Story by the BBFC, we have had to cancel the booking you made. We have processed a full refund. We apologise for any inconvenience.”
As per a report in TOI, the screens were 95% booked, leading to widespread disappointment upon the movie’s cancellation. Irked by the same, Suresh Varsani, director of the movie’s UK distributor 24 SEVEN FLIX4U was compelled to contact the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) to enquire about the issue.
BBFC is known to have informed, “The Kerala Story is still going through our classification process. Once the film has received a BBFC age rating and content advice, it will be available to be screened in UK cinemas.”
Complaining about the same, Suresh stated, “I am very suspicious that they have not given a valid reason. Why do they need more time when they have had three days? I have never come across a situation like this where a film has not been classified when it is meant to be released. USA, India, Australia and Canada and Ireland have all passed it. I don’t get what the issue is.”
According to him, between him and the cinemas a total loss of £40,000 to £50,000 (Rs 40 to 50 lakh) has been incurred till now.