'The Kerala Story', starring Adah Sharma as the lead, premiered on Zee5 today on February 16. The movie, which was produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, was theatrically released in May 2023. It received polarising reviews and in some places, it was also banned. However, Sudipto Sen-directorial triumphed at the box office. It was one of the highest grossers of 2023 as it crossed the Rs 300 crore mark. Outlook India got into a freewheeling conversation with Adah where she expressed her joy that her film has finally released on OTT.
Several reports claimed that 'The Kerala Story' has undergone re-censorship for its digital release. When we asked Adah about it, she said, ''No'' and added, ''It has not gone through re-censoring. You will see what you have seen in theatres. All the scenes and everything is going to be there''. She added, ''I am really happy that the film has finally released on OTT. People who have watched it 2-3 times in theatres wanted to watch it again and they were asking me when it is releasing on OTT. The film was banned in some places, so I am happy that those people can watch it now''.
For the unaware, the film received an 'A' certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and it also deleted 10 scenes. On the film receiving the 'A' certificate, the 'Commando' actress said, ''If they had given an A certificate, they obviously had reasons. We are no one to comment on why they gave and why they didn't. They are educated in the field of what they are doing.''
Talking about the delay in digital release, Adah said, ''OTT has a lot of things like censorship, contracts, release dates, etc. Zee5 has released the film as it is. There is no point in releasing a film with all the cuts. Then what's the point of releasing at all?'' She further said, ''I think this is right time for everything and the time to release it now and the best thing is that it is releasing without cuts and as it is as people saw it in the theatres.''
Adah also said that she had no fear or apprehensions when she was offered 'The Kerala Story'. ''My dad was in the Navy. He always told me, 'If you are ever going to tell the truth never be afraid'. You get scared or have apprehensions if you are lying. You shouldn't fear if you are telling the truth and standing with it. I knew that from the day I did the film. I didn't know there would be backlash. For me, The Kerala Story is not a political film. It's a story of a girl who is narrating her story of joining ISIS. We don't have any politicians or government references in the film,'' she said.
On the work front, Adah Sharma will be seen in 'Bastar' which is again produced by Vipul Shah and directed by Sudipto Sen. She also has web series, 'Sunflower 2'.
