A fresh controversy has erupted around The Kerala Story 2 after filmmaker Anurag Kashyap publicly criticized the film’s trailer, calling it “total bull” and “bull propaganda.” His remarks have now drawn a sharp response from the film’s director, Kamakhya Narayan Singh, who has hit back strongly on social media.
The debate began after a scene in the trailer showed one of the female protagonists being force-fed beef by a Muslim family as part of a larger narrative about coercion and conversion. Reacting to the clip while in Kochi for the Filmfare Awards South, Kashyap questioned the realism of the portrayal. “The Kerala Story is a s*** movie. It is bull* propaganda. Total bull*. Aisa kaun beef khilata hai? Aisa koi khichdi bhi nahi khilata hai (Who feeds someone beef like this? No one is fed even khichdi in this manner). Bakwaas picture. It is called crap,” he said.
Kashyap further alleged that such films are made to provoke division. “They just want to make money and please everybody; divide people. The filmmaker is a greedy man. He just wants to make money,” he added.
In response, Kamakhya Narayan Singh posted a video message on X (formerly Twitter), directly addressing Kashyap’s remarks. He stated that he agreed no one can force-feed anyone khichdi—or even laddoos—in normal circumstances. However, he argued that the issue raised in the film concerns coercion. “But unfortunately, in our society, our innocent girls are fed beef to convert them. This is a crime,” he claimed.
Dear Anurag sir,
— Kamakhya Narayan Singh (@kamakhyanarayan) February 22, 2026
मुद्दा ये नहीं है कि फिल्म में क्या दिखाया गया- खिचड़ी, बीफ या कुछ और।असल सवाल है consent और coercion।
किसी की मर्जी के खिलाफ तो खिचड़ी भी नहीं खिलाई जा सकती, तो अगर कोई फिल्म जबरन बदलाव या दबाव की बात उठाती है, तो उसे नफरत फैलाना कह देना intellectual… pic.twitter.com/1bIIaYyA7I
Singh also made personal remarks about Kashyap, saying, “Problem yeh hai ki Anurag Kashyap ji ab maansik roop se durbal hogaye hai. Unko har cheeze se dikkat hai—Brahmano se, Netflix se, film industry se. Is aadmi ko har cheeze se dikkat hai.” (The problem is that Anurag Kashyap has become mentally unstable. He has problems with everything—including Brahmins, Netflix, and the film industry.)
Referring to Kashyap’s earlier film That Girl in Yellow Boots, Singh criticized its controversial subject matter, saying it depicted themes beyond what he described as acceptable in a “civilised society.” The 2010 film starred Kalki Koechlin, Naseeruddin Shah, and Gulshan Devaiah. Singh alleged that Kashyap’s recent films have not performed well at the box office and concluded by saying he hopes Kashyap “gets good sense.”
In the caption accompanying his video, Singh wrote in Hindi that the real debate is not about khichdi or beef but about “consent and coercion.” He argued that dismissing the film as hate-mongering avoids a discussion on facts and data. “Your lies are creative freedom, and our truth is propaganda! Debate should be on facts and data—not shutting down discussion by slapping on labels like ‘bull****’ or ‘bootlicker’,” he wrote.
Written by Amarnath Jha and Vipul Amrutlal Shah, and produced by Vipul Shah, The Kerala Story 2 is scheduled to release in theatres on February 27. The trailer has already sparked polarised reactions online. Supporters claim the film sheds light on real incidents, while critics argue it presents a divisive narrative.
The sequel’s trailer portrays Hindu women allegedly being trapped by Islamic men under the guise of love, with the storyline suggesting how romance gradually turns into manipulation and control. The narrative presents parallel lives that shift from rebellion and passion to silence and oppression, framing love as a weapon that destroys personal freedom.
As the release date approaches, the public exchange between Kashyap and Singh has only intensified attention on the film. Whether the controversy translates into box office numbers remains to be seen, but the debate around The Kerala Story 2 has firmly placed it at the center of a larger conversation about cinema, ideology, and creative freedom.