After Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, Haryana declares The Kerala Story tax-free

The Kerala Story: The Haryana government has declared The Kerala Story tax-free. By doing so it became the third BJP-ruled state after Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh to accord tax-free status to the controversial film.

The West Bengal government had earlier banned the movie that released on May 5. It cited the need to prevent any untoward incident. The film starring Adah Sharma and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, is based on the plight of women from Kerala who were made to convert to Islam and lured into the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.

CM announces on Twitter

Announcing the decision to declare the film tax free, Haryana chief minister wrote on Twitter, "The Kerala Story has been made tax-free in Haryana."

Earlier, the BJP slammed the move by West Bengal to ban the film and criticised the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government in the state. The entertainment tax, that applies to the tickets for most films, will not be applied.

Madhya Pradesh was the first state to make the film tax-free; chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said last week the film should be 'watched by all'. Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath followed suit on Tuesday. He tweeted the film had been granted a similar exemption in his state. And now a day later Haryana CM Manohar Khattar has made it tax-free in the state.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath met the cast and crew of the film in Lucknow.

The Kashmir Files too found support in BJP-ruled states

Last year, Vivek Agnihotri's 'The Kashmir Files' - an equally controversial movie was accused of furthering a right-wing agenda. Then also BJP-ruled states, including UP, MP, Haryana, Karnataka and Goa similarly backed it.

The Kerala Story was released on May 5 in theatres. The film also stars Yogita Bihani, Sonia Balani, Siddhi Idnani, Pranav Pachauri, and others in pivotal roles. It is produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah.

The film has grossed nearly Rs 60 crores on the box office in its first five days. This makes it the 5th highest-grossing film of the year 2023 in India. The movie will be released in 37 countries on May 12.

The movie depicts how women from Kerala were forced to convert to Islam and recruited by the terror group Islamic State (IS).

Also Read: Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath meets the team of The Kerala Story in Lucknow; watch video

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