The Kerala Story, directed by Sudipto Sen and starring Adah Sharma as the lead, was released in the theatres on Friday, June 5, 2024. There were numerous petitions opposing the release of Vipul Shah’s production. The plot centers on Kerala’s forced conversion of non-Muslim women to Islam. The movie reportedly made between Rs 7.50 to 8 crore on its opening day. As a result, the bilingual film had the fifth-best Hindi film opening of 2024.
Controversy around The Kerala Story:
According to the petitions opposing the showing, the movie portraying women in Kerala joining ISIS is not factually accurate and incites animosity towards the Muslim population. In fact, there have been comparisons made on the internet between the Sudipto Sen film and Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files, which was criticized and called for a boycott when it was first released for allegedly defaming the Kashmiri Muslim population.
The Kerala Story’s trailer drew criticism because it implied that 32,000 state-born females vanished and eventually joined the terrorist organization ISIS. The inaccurate nature of the data was highlighted by reports from the Kerela Government, which indicated the contrary. In a report that was presented to the Kerala Assembly in 2012, the then-chief minister Oommen Chandy stated that 7,713 persons had converted to Islam between 2006 and 2012. The Kerala Story thus became a point of debate because of the inflated numbers in the movie’s trailer. They soon pledged to change the number and stop using it on social media after controversy about it broke out.
“The Kerala Story” ‘s assertion about the numbers received criticism from Kerala’s Chief Minister as well. Regardless of the criticism, the film’s producers, Vipul Amrutlal Shah in particular, have maintained that the story it is based on is real.
Protests in Kochi:
When the contentious film “The Kerala Story” was screened on Friday, there was tension outside the movie theatres in Kerala. In Kochi, the state’s commercial center, protesters from the Nationalist Youth Congress (NYC), the party’s youth branch, and the Fraternity Movement protested outside a local theatre. The NYC demonstrators chanted slogans outside the theatre while holding signs in their hands, calling for the movie to be banned for what they claimed was its negative portrayal of the southern state. Women activists from the Fraternity Movement marched to the Kochi theatre to protest the film, claiming it was full of lies and indicative of the Sangh Parivar’s conflicting goal.
Among such protests, PVR Cinemas was observed to postpone the Friday showing of the divisive film, “The Kerala Story” at Kochi’s PVR Oberon Mall in Kerala. Although a PVR representative informed viewers via message that the afternoon show had been cancelled, no explanation for the choice was provided.
Kerela High Court’s Jurisdiction:
An appeal against the controversial movie’s release was denied by a division bench of the Kerala High Court. A decision to revoke the Central Board of Film Certification’s (CBFC) “A” certification for “The Kerala Story” was requested in the petition. Additionally, the petitioners asserted that the remarks utilized in the movie trailer would shatter the state’s commitment to secularism. After viewing the movie’s trailer, the division bench opined that it was not about Islam or Muslims in general but rather ISIS.Â
Earlier on Thursday, the Indian Supreme Court turned down a request to amend the movie’s disclaimer from “true story” to “fiction.” The Court advised the petitioners to take their case to the Kerala High Court.
Reaction to the film:
Kangana Ranaut discussed the divisive movie’s depiction of ISIS and acknowledged the movement to get it banned. According to her, individuals who believe the group is not a terrorist organization and believe that the movie is hitting them rather than ISIS are terrorists in their own right.
In response to the continuing debate around the movie “The Kerala Story”, PM Modi stated on Friday that the plot is centred around a terrorist conspiracy. In his speech to a crowd in the town of Ballari, Prime Minister Modi asserted that The Kerala Story exposes the terrorists’ plots and reveals the awful reality of terrorism.
AR Rehman highlighted communal harmony by posting a video of a Hindu couple getting married in a Kerala mosque on social media. Rahman was seen to retweet the video with the hashtag “#KeralaStory” in the caption.
