Patna (Bihar) [India], May 9 : Stating that the film 'The Kerala Story' is based on contemporary social issues, Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Tuesday wrote to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar urging to make the movie tax-free in the state.
The demand comes after two BJP-ruled states in the country including Madhya Pradesh followed by Uttar Pradesh announced to make the film tax-free.
"The recently released movie 'The Kerala Story' is a very important film based on contemporary social issues. Keeping in mind the importance of this film, it is being made tax-free in many states of the country like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh etc. So I request you to give necessary instructions to the concerned to make it Tax-Free in the state of Bihar as well," the Minister's letter read.
Earlier in the day, Giriraj Singh also tweeted, "'The Kerala Story' should be made tax-free in Bihar on the lines of UP".
Earlier, the Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday announced that they will make the recently released film 'The Kerala Story' tax-free in the state.
"'The Kerala Story' to be made tax-free in Uttar Pradesh," CM Yogi said in a tweet.
The Chief Minister along with his cabinet colleagues is expected to watch the film at a special screening.
Madhya Pradesh had made the movie tax-free in the state on May 6, becoming the first state to do so.
Stating that the 'The Kerala Story' "exposes the conspiracy of love Jihad, religious conversion and terrorism," Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had said that the newly released movie has been made tax-free in the state.
"The Kerala Story exposes the conspiracy of love Jihad, religious conversion and terrorism and brings out its hideous face. The film tells how the daughters get entangled in the trap of love jihad in momentary sentimentality and how they are ruined. The film also exposes the design of terrorism. This film makes us aware," the Chief Minister said in a video posted on his official Twitter handle.
The movie is not being screened in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
The West Bengal government in a notification on Monday said that the movie 'The Kerala Story' is "likely to cause a breach of peace" and that it has prohibited the screening of the film to avoid "any incident of hatred or violence to maintain law and order in the state".
A massive controversy erupted around the film after its trailer claimed that 32,000 women from Kerala had gone missing and joined the terrorist group ISIS. However, in the face of protests, the contentious figure in the trailer was later withdrawn.
Helmed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, the film evoked sharp opposition from Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who called it "RSS propaganda".'The Kerala Story' stars Adah Sharma, Yogita Bih, Siddhi Idn and Sonia Bal in lead roles.
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