The Kerala Story BO day 18: Adah Sharma-starrer zooms past Rs 200 cr domestic collection

Despite bans and protests, Adah Sharma-Sudipto Sen's film continues to do well at the box office. On Monday, the film got an overall 15.58 percent occupancy in Hindi and a 17.42 percent occupancy in Telugu leading to an overall domestic collection of over Rs 200 crore in 18 days.

Hyderabad: The Kerala Story, directed by Sudipto Sen, has passed the Rs 200 crore mark at the box office on its third Monday. The Kerala Story set cash registers on fire and is reported to have earned Rs 204.47 crore so far. According to industry tracker Sacnilk, the Adah Sharma picture earned Rs 81.14 crore in its first week and Rs 90.58 crore in its second.

The film earned Rs 6.6 crore on its third Friday, Rs 9.15 crore on its third Saturday, Rs 11.50 crore on its third Sunday, and Rs 5.50 crore on its third Monday. On Monday, the film scored a 15.58 percent overall occupancy in Hindi and a 17.42 percent overall occupancy in Telugu. The contentious film tells the story of three Kerala women who were allegedly compelled to convert to Islam and join the terrorist organisation ISIS.

Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Sonia Balani, and Siddhi Idnani star in the key parts. The West Bengal administration banned the film on May 8, fearing community strife. Tamil Nadu theatres chose to halt screenings on May 7, citing the law-and-order situation and a low crowd turnout. Despite this, the film was able to achieve the 200 cr milestone.

Meanwhile, Sen revealed his reason for making the divisive film at a recent news conference. He remembered seeing the survivors for the first time in 2015-16 in Ernakulam. The filmmaker remarked that these individuals had gone days without food or electricity.

"When I went there to interview them back in 2015-16, there was just the light coming from the gap between the doors," he said. You can see how individuals abused their innocence and left them in this situation. That was the impetus for making our film."