Tamil Nadu theatres stop screening 'The Kerala Story' due to poor reception

Amid stinging reviews, allegedly poor box office collections as well as protests, theatres in Tamil Nadu stopped the screening of The Kerala Story in the state from May 7 onwards.

When this writer tried to book via online platforms for a Sunday afternoon show, it was not possible anymore.

President of Tamil Nadu Theatre and Multiplex Owners Association, M Subramaniam, popularly known as Tiruppur Subramaniam, confirmed the news that the few multiplexes that had shown the film had decided to withdraw it.

On April 6, Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) staged a protest against the release of the film in Chennai. Seeman, the party's coordinator, who is also actor and director, along with NTK cadres, had protested near Anna Nagar Arch.

Film industry tracker Sreedhar Pillai, who said he was planning to watch the film on Sunday, only to find out it was no longer shown, had also tweeted that the film multiplexes will stop screening The Kerala Story.

Meanwhile in Kerala, according to the distributors, E4 Entertainment, 22 screens across the State are screening the films.

Although the theatre owners in Kerala had told Press Trust of India before the release of the film that they were not worried about the adverse publicity, on the day of release, on May 5, a few theatres, including PVR Cinemas at Lulu Mall and Oberon Mall in Kochi, decided not to screen the film.

When contacted, a spokesperson for PVR Cinemas had declined to comment.