Read what makes The Kerala Story so controversial
A new movie The Kerala Story that claims to reveal the story of Hindu and Christian females lured into joining the Islamic State (IS) party has instigated a massive controversy in India.
The Kerala Story – from the southern state of Kerala – has been criticised by numerous rival politicians, with several calling it propaganda and a try to destroy religious peace.
The Kerala Story: the most controversial film in 2023:
But it has got support from heads of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who hailed it at a recent political protest. Several party members have even hosted screenings and given free tickets.
The movie has got poor reviews from multiple mainstream critics who have criticised its performances and “lack of nuance” – one said that the movie’s “ideas about Islam and [religious] transformation seem to have been sourced from hate-filled WhatsApp chats”.
But its collection at the box office has been “fantastic” for a movie with a small budget and no big celebrities, critic Taran Adarsh told the BBC. According to his calculations, it has made more than 560m rupees ($6.8m, £5.4m) in five days, which he names “a feat for any new release”.
The Kerala Story has pulled comparisons with The Kashmir Files, another smartly polarising film that became one of last year’s greatest hits from Bollywood. That movie – on the journey of Hindus from Kashmir in the 1990s – was also made on a small budget, had no prominent actors, and got praise from Mr Modi and other BJP leaders though it got mediocre reviews.
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The Kerala Story started sparking controversy months before its launch. In November, several politicians from Kerala called for the movie to be barred after its trailer claimed it told the “heart-breaking and gut-wrenching tales of 32,000 women” from the state who had entered the IS.
This was disproved by fact-checking the Alt News website in a thorough report that ended there was “no proof” to back the number.
According to the US state division’s Country Reports on Terrorism 2020, “66 known Indian-origin warriors affiliated” with the IS as of November 2020. In September 2021, India’s National Investigation Agency stated it had charged 168 people with 37 cases “of terror invasions, conspiracy and funding” encouraged by the IS’s creed.
The directors said that The Kerala Story was based on actual events and years of study.
The film faced legal challenges and climbing criticism in April as its launch date came. The Kerala high court refused to keep the release, but the movie’s filmmakers decided to remove the trailer, which gave the controversial figure of 32,000 females.
Its description on YouTube was even changed to “the collection of the true tales of three young girls from different areas of Kerala”.
