Surat tea-seller offers free tea to those carrying ‘Kerala Story’ tickets

Close on the heels of a village sarpanch offering sops to people who came with tickets of “Kashmir Files” movie, it is now the turn of a tea-seller in Surat to distribute free tea and coffee to those who produce tickets of “The Kerala Story.”

Aptly called “Kesariya (saffron) Tea Shop” in Surat’s plush Vesu area, the tea seller has put up a poster of ‘The Kerala Story’ stating that those who show tickets of the controversial movie will get free tea and coffee.

“The offer is valid until May 15, 2023”, the poster declares.  

This is not the first such instance in Gujarat. It may be recalled that a village sarpanch in North Gujarat had offered the people in his area exemption from local taxes if they came with the tickets of another controversial film “The Kashmir Files” last year.  

“The Kerala Story” has also courted huge controversy even as several petitions seeking a ban on the film were rejected by various high courts and even the Supreme Court. The petitioners in all the applications had alleged that the film was misleading against the Muslims and would create communal fissures.

Amid political allegations and counter-allegations, BJP-ruled states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have waived the taxes on the film while states like Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have banned it.

The feature film sparked off a huge row immediately after its teasers were released in November 2022.