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By Adarsh T R: It is a movie that sparked controversy from the word go. And the fire has only spread with time.
The first brush with controversy of The Kerala Story, a movie directed by Sudipto Sen and starring Adah Sharma, was when the teaser was released in November 2022. It claimed that 32,000 women from the state were converted to Islam and recruited by the terror group, Islamic State.
There are two issues at the centre of the outrage. The first is the number of women, 32,000, that the film claims have been converted and recruited by the Islamic State. The second, is the life of the film’s central character, Fathima Ba, based on true events or cobbled together from snippets of information available?
The Censor Board issued an ‘A’ certificate to The Kerala Story and reportedly deleted 10 scenes, one of them an interview with a former Kerala chief minister.
The movie, which is set to be released in cinemas on May 5, is facing a lot of backlash from the Left government and the Congress alike, and leaders are calling for a ban on screening of the film in the state. The Kerala Story sparked a controversy right after its trailer was released, revealing its central plot.
The trailer shows a Hindu girl, Shalini Unnikrishnan, being brainwashed and lured into Islam by her Muslim friends. It details Shalini’s religious conversion, wedding, and her being trafficked to Pakistan.
“I am not alone, there are thousands of girls from Kerala who ran away from home,” Shalini, played by Adah Sharma, says before the trailer ends.
The movie centers around alleged religious indoctrination in Kerala and how Hindu and Christian women are being targeted by radical Islamic clerics. The Kerala Story claims that these women were converted to Islam and later sent to countries like Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria “to fight for the cause of Islam”.
Political parties, including the ruling CPI(M) and the Congress, in Kerala are opposed to the “false claim” the movie promotes. They want a ban on The Kerala Story, which they see as hate propaganda to target Muslims and defame the state.
But the filmmakers have been vocal in their defence of the movie. Actor Adah Sharma, director Sudipto Sen and producer Vipul Shah in an exclusive interview unanimously said the movie “targets terrorists and not the entire Muslim community”.
INCORRECT NUMBERS, FAKE STORY?
Those opposed to the film have raised serious concerns about the movie’s claim to have unearthed the whereabouts of the 32,000 missing women from Kerala. But where did this stunning figure come from?
According to producer Vipul Shah, there is enough evidence of conversion in Kerala and the debate should be centred around how to stop it, instead of focusing on the numbers.
In an exclusive interview with India Today, Vipul Shah said, “We don’t want to get into the debate on the numbers, we want to talk about the issue. We want to bring notice to the human tragedy happening in Kerala and in India.”
Director Sudipto Sen said the discussion on numbers becomes valid only when people have seen the film. The focus of the movie is on human tragedy, he said.
Keeping the row over “incorrect numbers” aside for a moment, another question that sparked a debate is whether the life of character Fathima Ba is based on true events or is her story made out of snippets of information available.
“I spoke to some of these women. There will be testimony from those who will be brave enough to come in front of cameras,” Actor Adah Sharma said, indicating that her character is in fact based on true events.
‘PROPAGANDA, NOT OUR KERALA STORY’
Since the filmmakers announced the release date of the movie, the Congress and the CPI(M) have been vocal in their opposition. While the Congress sought a ban on screening of the film, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called it a “Sangh Parivar propaganda” piece.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan 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.
He said that despite the issue of ‘love jihad’ being rejected by probe agencies, courts and the MHA, it was being raised in connection with Kerala as the main premise of the film only to humiliate the state in front of the world.
“Permission should not be given to screen the film which falsely claims that 32,000 women in Kerala have been converted to Islam and became members of IS. No one should think that Kerala can be divided by spewing the poison of communalism,” Congress leader VD Satheesan said.
Senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor in one line expressed his thoughts about the movie.
In a tweet he said, “It may be your Kerala story. It is not our Kerala story”.
“Let me stress, I am not calling for a ban on the film. Freedom of expression does not cease to be valuable just because it can be misused. But Keralites have every right to say loud & clear that this is a misrepresentation of our reality,” Tharoor added.
WHY THE KERALA STORY?
Apart from the plot of the movie, its title ‘The Kerala story’ is seen as an attempt to malign the state. Producer Vipul Shah said the film revolves around a few people who are involved in conversion, which happens to be in Kerala, and hence the title.
“How is it maligning the state? We all love Kerala. There is nothing against the state in the entire movie,” Vipul Shah told India Today TV.
‘FILM TARGETS TERRORISTS, NOT MUSLIMS’
On another claim that the film targets one particular community, Vipul Shah said if terror has no religion and the movie is on terrorists, why are people saying Muslims are being targeted?
The statement came after the Muslim Youth League, the youth wing of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), came up with a challenge to the supporters of The Kerala Story. Youth League State General Secretary PK Firos on Monday announced a reward of Rs 1 crore for anyone who could prove the allegations in the film.
“As long as IUML’s offer is concerned, it is their job. It is a political party. Our job was to make the film,” Sudipto Sen told India Today.
ISLAMIC STATE’S RECRUITMENT FROM KERALA
As the debate rages on over the factual basis of the movie and whether its content could be justified by invoking the right of freedom of expression, the BJP came in support of the film and said the recruitment by IS from the southern state couldn’t be denied.
“IS has a very strong presence in Kerala. You cannot deny the IS recruitment from the state,” Kerala BJP chief K Surendran claimed, adding that if the figures cited in the film were the bone of contention, then that could be discussed.
“Films are not always completely based on facts. Treat the movie as one. Watch it first. Why the urgency to stop its screening? Why be scared of it? Why so much agitation? Those who do not want to see it, need not,” Surendran said.
“The BBC documentary (on the 2002 riots in Gujarat) was shown across Kerala by DYFI after booking halls. Then why block ‘The Kerala Story’?” he asked.
With the release of the movie scheduled for May 5, The Kerala Story is likely to divide opinions on facts , figures and creative expression in the days to come.
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