The Kerala Story, starring Adah Sharma, which is set to hit the theatres on May 5, has managed to create a lot of buzz even before its official release.
The Kerala Story, written and directed by Sudipto Sen, came under the fire as it focuses on the unverified claim that 32,000 women from Kerala joined Islamic State (IS) but official records reportedly show no such data.
Amid the row, the director, producer and the actor have backed the movie, saying The Kerala Story targets terrorists, not Muslims and there is nothing against the state in the entire film.
In an exclusive interview with India Today, director Sudipto Sen said, “I made the movie after months of research. No producer wanted to back the movie. My perspective changed; I was deeply moved after speaking to the victims.”
Vipul Shah, the producer of the movie, said, “Nothing against the state of Kerala. Nothing derogatory said in the film. The film targets terrorists and not Muslims. Want Kerala CM to watch the movie.”
Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly, V D Satheesan, rejected the claims of the movie makers and said it was clear that the intention of the upcoming movie was to tarnish the image of the state at the international level.
“Permission should not be given to screen the film which falsely claims that 32,000 women in Kerala have been converted into Islam and became members of ISIS,” the Congress leader said.
The trailer of the film itself tells what the movie is trying to say, Satheesan said in a statement, according to news agency PTI.
“This is not an issue of freedom of expression but part of an attempt to implement the Sangh Parivar agenda of creating division in the society by casting aspersions on the minority groups,” he said.
The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth wing of the ruling CPI(M), also lashed out against the film and said its trailer itself hurt religious sentiments.
In a hard-hitting Facebook post, the DYFI alleged that the medium of cinema was being misused by the makers of the movie to create communal divisions in society and to tarnish the image of the state.
Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday slammed the makers of the film ‘The Kerala Story’, saying they were taking up the Sangh Parivar propaganda of projecting the state as a centre of religious extremism by raising the issue of ‘love jihad’ — a concept rejected by the courts, probe agencies and the Home Ministry.
Vijayan also said the trailer of the Hindi film, at first glance, appears to be “deliberately produced” with the alleged aim of creating communal polarisation and spreading hate propaganda against the state.
The chief minister, in a statement, said such propaganda films and the alienation of Muslims depicted in them should be viewed in the context of Sangh Parivar’s efforts to gain political advantage in Kerala.
In a strongly-worded Facebook post, Culture and Youth Affairs minister Saji Cheriyan said the movie was part of the Sangh Parivar propaganda to implement “their tried-and-tested method of creating unrest” among the communities by spewing venom in society.
What do exhibitors have to say?
According to a report by India Today, members of the Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala (FEUOK) have stated that banning The Kerala Story was not of any use since the audience would watch the film when it releases on OTT anyway.
FEUOK office bearer Suresh Shenoy, who owns a theater complex in Kochi, reportedly told the media that banning a film was not a good precedent. He added that this was akin to censorship.
(With inputs from PTI)
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