Vipul Shah's The Kerala Story: Accurate or not, the film has steam

According to the US State Department report titled ‘Country Reports on Terrorism 2020: India’, “There were 66 known Indian-origin fighters affiliated with ISIS, as of November” (2020). Congress leader Shashi Tharoor tells the makers, ‘It may be your Kerala story. It is not our Kerala story.’ The Kerala Story has become a topic for discussion around the numbers being exaggerated in the trailer of the film. ‘32,000’ or ‘3’; how flawed is the statistics of  ‘The Kerala Story’.

 Helmed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, the film is all set to hit the theatres on May 5, 2023.The Kerala Story’ stars Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Siddhi Idnani and Sonia Balani in the lead roles.

The trailer of Sudipta Sen’s film ‘The Kerala Story’ came under fire as it claimed that 32,000 girls from the state went missing and later joined the terrorist group, ISIS. Leader of Opposition in Kerala Legislative Assembly VD Satheesan recently said that the film ‘The Kerala Story’ should not be granted permission for screening.

“The film, The Kerala Story which falsely claims that 32,000 women in Kerala converted and became members of the Islamic State, should not be granted permission for screening. The trailer clearly shows what the film intends to say”, Satheesan said in a Facebook post.

He also alleged that the film is part of an attempt to implement Sangh Parivar’s agenda and create a social divide by casting a shadow of doubt over the minority groups. The Kerala Story an attempt to spread hate propaganda, says Pinarayi Vijayan. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday said the upcoming movie The Kerala Story was a product of the Sangh Parivar’s “factory of lies”. He said legal action would be taken against those involving themselves in antisocial activities.

In fact when the trailer itself was surfaced on the internet, it garnered severe criticism on the internet. Congress leader VD Satheesan called the teaser of the film as a “clear case of misinformation” and said, “I have seen that teaser. It’s a clear case of misinformation. There is nothing like that happening in Kerala. This is to tarnish the image of Kerala in front of other states. This is a Sangh Parivar agenda. They are consistently trying to spread hatred among people. On what basis is the film made, and on what information?”

He added, “There is no record with the state police. If there is anything with central intelligence, they have to bring it to the public. These are the records, these are the list of women, these are the addresses of the women who joined the IS, they were recruited from Kerala. Now we are opposing all the communalists, both minority and majority. There are extreme outfits from both sides, they are helping each other. We might think they are fighting but they are helping each other. When one outfit is giving some misinformation or spreading hatred that will help the other side.” Amidst all this, director of the film Sudipto Sen has raised the eyebrows of the audience with the hard-hitting promo of The Kerala Story.

What does the trailer of The Kerala Story show?

On 3rd November 2022, the teaser of the new film ‘The Kerala Story’ was released. The film produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah and directed by Sudipto Sen depicts the heartbreaking and gut-wrenching stories of 32000 women from Kerala who were radicalized to join the ISIS (Islamic States of Iraq and Syria) terrorist ranks. It is notable that many of these Muslim women from Kerala joining ISIS were converted with the motive of sending them to the terrorist organization ISIS.

The trailer shows a Muslim woman in front of the international border narrating her story. The character played by actress Adah Sharma says that earlier she used to be Shalini Unnikrishnan and wanted to be a nurse. She further adds how she was by force converted to Islam and renamed Fatima Ba, and was made to join ISIS to become a terrorist and was then locked up in an Afghanistan jail.

 The Supreme Court’s Take

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a plea seeking a stay on release of the movie “The Kerala Story” on grounds that it’s a “worst kind of hate speech” and an “audio-visual propaganda”.

A bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna was told by senior advocate Kapil Sibal and advocate Nizam Pasha that the trailer of the movie, which is scheduled to be released on Friday, has garnered 16 million views. Pasha said, “This movie is the worst kind of hate speech. It is a completely audio-visual propaganda.”

The bench said, “There are varieties of hate speeches. This film has got certification and has been cleared by the board. It’s not like a person getting on the podium and starts giving uncontrolled speech. If you want to challenge the release of the movie, you should challenge the certification and through appropriate forum.”

Sibal then said that he will do whatever necessary. Justice Nagarathna said the petitioner should first approach the high court. Pasha said there was no time left as the movie is scheduled to release on Friday. “This is not a ground. Otherwise everyone will start coming to the Supreme Court”, the bench said. Pasha said that is why he has filed an intervention application in the hate speech matter. Justice Joseph said though he may not be advising the petition but for seeking appropriate remedy a substantial writ petition needs to be filed.

32,000 or 3 is not important, what is important is that while most would shy away from the subject, producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah was determined to bring this horrifying tale to the big screen backed by 4 years of extensive and thorough research. Director Sudipto Sen travelled to the state and even to the Arab countries , met with the locals and families of the victims and was shocked with the findings.

In his earlier statement producer Vipul Shah shared “I was in tears in the first narration meeting itself.”

(With inputs from agencies)

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