The Kerala Story 2 Movie Review

★★★ / 5 | Drama/Thriller | UA16+ | Runtime: ~131 minutes | Released: February 28, 2026

After a dramatic legal battle that nearly prevented its release, The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond finally arrived in cinemas on February 28, 2026 — and it is as bold, as raw, and as polarising as its 2023 predecessor. Directed by Kamakhya Narayan Singh and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah under Sunshine Pictures, the film picks up the controversial baton of its predecessor and runs with it — harder, broader, and louder.

What Is The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond About?

Unlike the first film, which focused on women from Kerala, this sequel deliberately expands its geographical canvas to become a pan-India story. Three young women from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Kerala find themselves trapped in relationships that shatter their lives.

• Divya Paliwal (Aditi Bhatia) — an aspiring dancer from Jodhpur who happily converts to marry Rashid (Yuktam Khosla), only to discover the warmth of romance replaced by control, humiliation, and isolation.
• Neha (Aishwarya Ojha) — a talented javelin thrower from Gwalior who believes she has found love in “Raju,” who is revealed to actually be Faizan (Arjan Aujla). Her athletic dreams crumble as her new reality sets in.
• Surekha Gupta (Ulka Gupta) — a resilient woman from Rajasthan who falls for Salim (Sumit Gahlawat), a man who projects progressive values but is deeply entrenched in a religious conversion network.

Each story follows a similar arc — love, betrayal, entrapment — and together they form a disturbing mosaic of what the filmmakers call a “nationwide pattern.”

Performances: The Strongest Asset

If The Kerala Story 2 succeeds at anything unambiguously, it is in its performances.

Ulka Gupta is a revelation. Her portrayal of Surekha’s transformation — from a hopeful woman in love to a caged, emotionally devastated survivor — is raw, layered, and genuinely moving. She carries the emotional weight of the film on her shoulders and rarely falters.

Aishwarya Ojha brings a quiet intensity to Neha’s arc. The betrayal of her sporting dreams adds a dimension beyond the personal, making her character feel like a representation of ambitions systematically destroyed.

Aditi Bhatia, known for television, surprises with conviction. Her character’s willful entry into a tragic situation adds moral complexity often missing from such narratives.

The male antagonists — Arjan Aujla, Yuktam Khosla, and Sumit Gahlawat — perform adequately, though their characters remain deliberately one-dimensional, serving the film’s cautionary tone rather than cinematic nuance.

Direction and Screenplay

Kamakhya Narayan Singh’s direction is confident and purposeful. He does not aim for subtlety — and he achieves exactly what he sets out to do: a film that disturbs, provokes, and refuses to look away.

The three-act parallel structure is well-maintained. Pacing is largely effective through the first two acts, though the climax feels rushed, a notable weakness given the emotional investment built earlier. The screenplay, written by Amarnath Jha and Vipul Amrutlal Shah, balances its three storylines without allowing any single thread to dominate too early.

Where the writing falters is in its predictability. Once you understand the template from the first story, the subsequent narratives offer little surprise. The film could have benefited from greater variation in its arcs.

Controversy and Context

The film’s road to release was anything but smooth. Petitioner Sreedev Namboodiri challenged the CBFC certification in the Kerala High Court, arguing the film could disrupt communal harmony. A single-judge bench issued an interim stay on February 26 — only for a division bench to lift the stay on February 27, hours before release.

Kerala’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan characterised the sequel as potentially promoting divisive narratives. The Communist Party of India (Kerala) passed a resolution opposing the film. Conversely, Union Minister Giriraj Singh publicly defended the filmmakers’ right to present their perspective.

At a press conference in Delhi on February 23, the filmmakers introduced 30 women who claimed to have experienced forced religious conversions — a move that drew heated pushback from journalists who questioned the absence of Malayali victims, given the film’s title.

The box office opening on Day 1 stood at approximately ₹3.50 crore — a modest start attributable in part to the uncertainty surrounding its release, with many theatres only beginning shows in the evening of February 27.

Technical Craft

Cinematography effectively supports the film’s grim emotional register — close quarters, muted palettes during moments of captivity, warmer tones in the early romance phases. The visual contrast reinforces the thematic arc.

Music by Mannan Shaah and Rahul Suhas is functional rather than memorable. The song “Saathi Re” (sung by Vishal Mishra) is the standout track, released on February 4.

Editing is generally tight but could have shaved another 10-15 minutes, particularly in the second half where repetition across the three storylines begins to show.

Should You Watch The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond?

This is not a film for passive viewing. It is emotionally heavy, deliberately uncomfortable, and thematically charged. It makes no apologies for its perspective and will not try to win over skeptics.

Audiences who connect with its themes will find it deeply resonant — a film that confirms their concerns and gives face to fears they believe are real. Those who approach it with skepticism about its framing of communities will find it a one-sided, propagandistic exercise.

What is undeniable: the performances are genuine, the emotional impact is real, and the filmmaking craft exceeds the first film in several technical departments.

The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond — Verdict

The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond is a well-made, emotionally heavy social drama with standout performances — particularly Ulka Gupta — and a conviction that commands attention even when it frustrates. A hurried climax and predictable structure hold it back from greatness, but within its own terms, it largely delivers on its intent.

Whether it is cinema or commentary, documentary or drama, you will not walk out indifferent.

Rating: ★★★ / 5 On the whole, a well-made film with powerful performances and a hurried climax. Audience word-of-mouth will determine its box-office longevity.

Quick Facts

Stay tuned for box office updates, audience reactions, and OTT release date for The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond.

Tags: The Kerala Story 2 Review | The Kerala Story 2 Goes Beyond | Ulka Gupta | Aditi Bhatia | Aishwarya Ojha | Vipul Shah | Bollywood 2026 | Movie Review | Social Drama | Box Office