Film: The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond
Rating: N/A
Cast: Ulka Gupta, Aditi Bhatia, Aishwarya Ojha, Sumit Gahlawat, Arjan Singh Ahuja, Yuktam Khosla and others
Music: Mannan Shah (BGM), Mannan Shah and Rahul Suhas (songs)
Edited by: Sanjay Sharma
Cinematography: Abhijeet Chaudhari
Producers: Vipul Amrutlal Shah, Amarnath Jha
Director: Kamakhya Narayan Singh
Released on: 27 Feb 2026
Kerala Story 2 has hit the screens at last after clearing all CBFC and court issues. The content as expected is very predictable.
The first instalment of "The Kerala Story" and the trailer of Kerala Story 2 already conveyed what is actually there in the film. So there is no thrill factor suspense factor or twist factor to hook the audience. It is only about witnessing how each male antagonist lures betrays and tortures the female protagonists.
The film opens with random scenes from Gwalior, Jodhpur and some other city which happen to be the final part of the film. This is a clear spoilsport. Those scenes further kill the waiting factor as the audience understands what is going to happen in the end.
However the story progresses with three different girls in different places who are not connected to each other.
Divya, a 16 year old girl loves dance and makes decent dance reels. She gets trapped by a guy named Rashid who tells her that doing normal reels is beneath her and she deserves to be a national celebrity by doing steamy Gen Z kind of dances. Lured by that freedom of expression she falls in love with Rashid sees him as her future and deserts her caring parents.
Neha is another girl, a javelin throw player who is aiming to play at nationals after winning medals at the state level. She comes from a humble middle class background where her parents are very caring and are also looking for a groom for her. But she marries a guy named Raju in a temple out of love.
Then comes Surekha a Kerala girl who gets trapped in the love of Saleem a progressive atheist journalist who claims that religion is nothing in front of love and that he does not believe in religion at all. Surekha is a progressive girl from an educated family aiming to clear the UPSC exam.
How Rashid further traps elopes with and marries Divya making her Alia; how Raju exposes his true identity as Faizan and then dramatically marries Neha making her Nafisa and eventually turns her into a prostitute for money; how Saleem exposes his Ghazwa e Hind mission and forces Surekha to convert eat beef and so on; this forms the rest of the story.
The scenes in the film are very frightening. Especially the interval scene where a Hindu girl after conversion and marriage is eventually raped by the elderly Muslim cleric and then sequentially gang raped by many men is horrifying.
The scene where the dead body of a Hindu girl is cut into pieces kept in polythene bags to bury is disturbing.
The forced beef feeding scenes to a Hindu girl are also nauseatingly cruel.
Coming to performances every actor did his and her best.
Ulka Gupta is the best on screen with her photogenic face as Surekha. She excelled with her performance and expressions.
Aditi Bhatia who played Divya is another surprise. She has different shades to play right from a teen girl in the beginning, a suffering Muslim bride next, and as an experienced matured girl who advises another character named Fathima.
Aishwarya Ojha has made her presence very impactful facing the worst experiences as character Neha.
Sumit Gahlawat as journalist Saleem is very convincing and has shown his cruelty in shades.
Arjan Singh Ahuja as Raju alias Faizan has dual shades to play as an innocent soft hearted lover and then as a cruel guy.
Yuktam Khosla as Rashid is menacing in his role. He is seen as wicked from the beginning and eventually cold blooded and cruel.
The actors who played the parents of the three girls are also perfect. Especially the actress who played Neha's mother showed her histrionics as an experienced theatre artiste. Similarly the father character of Divya, did well. The Kerala parents are also convincing and they excelled in the climax scene.
The film's songs are good but not hitting like the one in "The Kerala Story" "Na Zameen Mili Na Falak Mila". That is the minus in the film. Otherwise the BGM is captivating and totally immersing especially in the second half.
Coming to screenplay Surekha's plotline is not dealt with really well. She gets many opportunities to escape the situation but she does not use them. That looks contrived and unintelligent.
Director Kamakhya Narayan Singh has turned a cliched predictable narrative into a gripping and horrific tale of a facet of Islamic terrorism.
On the whole out of the three girls who runs the climax is interesting.
It is like a clarion call against the terrorism called love jihad and the atrocities and cruelty behind it.
The film has ended with a few evidences that support the reason for making this film.
This film is for educational purposes for those who wish to stay guarded from love jihad terrorism not only for teen girls but also for their family members and parents. The film is worth a watch.
That does not mean the film is against all Muslims. There is a great dialogue in the film from character Surekha who names several great Muslims of India that India is proud of, right from Abdul Kalam, but not the jihadists. So this film is against love jihad terrorists for sure. In single line to say, it is a hard hitting disturbing eye opener on love jihad, worth watching for awareness despite its predictability.
Bottom Line: Wake-up bomb
Disclaimer: No rating is given to this film, as it is primarily an awareness-driven educational piece on the realities of love jihad, rather than a conventional cinematic entertainment experience