Why Congress leader Shashi Tharoor slammed The Kerala Story: ‘Not our Kerala story’| Explained

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.

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 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.

“A glance at the trailer gives the impression that the movie was deliberately produced with the aim of communal polarisation and spreading hate propaganda against Kerala. By placing Kerala, the land of secularism, as the centre of religious extremism, it is repeating the Sangh Parivar’s propaganda. Propaganda films and the othering of Muslims should be viewed in the context of various efforts made by the Sangh Parivar to gain an advantage in electoral politics in Kerala,” Mr. Vijayan said in a Facebook post.

The statement comes at a time when the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) and their youth organisations have all opposed the movie in a united voice.

What is The Kerala Story about?

According to an interview in Times of India, the producer, Vipul Amrutlal Shah says, “The Kerala Story is based on a true story about a girl who got converted and was going to Syria. On the way, she realized that it was a mistake and she escaped. Today, she is in an Afghanistan jail. There are many girls in Afghanistan jails. At least four are on record. So, that’s how we got to know about this story and then we started our research and found that there are many more.

Finally, the film is a story of three such girls who fell victim to manipulative conversion and their lives were practically destroyed. This compelled me to narrate this story. Because when we were doing our research, we realized that the number is extremely large. We must have met more than 100 girls at least. We realized that it’s a big issue and we need to be clear about it. We need to tell the story with full honesty and absolute truth.”

The Congress urged the Kerala government not to give permission to screen the controversial movie ‘The Kerala Story’, as it aimed to create “communal divisions in society through false claims”.

According to the filmmakers, ‘The Kerala Story’, written and directed by Sudipto Sen, “unearths” the events behind “approximately 32,000 women” going missing in the southern state who have allegedly converted, radicalised and deployed in terror missions in India and the world.

True 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 Vipul shared “I was in tears in the first narration meeting itself.”

But how true is the story we will have to wait and watch as the film releases on 5^th May

(With inputs from agencies)

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