On Tuesday, Anil Kant, the Director General of Police in Kerala, ordered Thiruvananthapuram police commissioner Sparjan Kumar to file a complaint against the crew of the film named ‘The Kerala Story’ for allegedly presenting the state as a safe shelter for terrorists. The Police said that the DGP’s direction was based on a complaint sent to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
According to the reports, the teaser of the movie which was released on November 3 stated that over 32,000 women from the state of Kerala were converted and most of them were transported to Islamic State-held territories in Syria and Afghanistan over the course of a decade. The film is directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by VA Shah.
Two days ago, BR Arvindakshan, a Tamil Nadu-based journalist, wrote to the nation’s film certification board president Prasoon Joshi and others, requesting that the film be banned until the creators provide sufficient proof to back up their allegation. The complaint was also submitted to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who later referred it to the DGP.
In the letter to the CM, the journalist mentioned that the movie is against the unity and integrity of the country which would also tarnish the intelligence agencies. The Police also examined the teaser to claim that several assertions were made without any truth or evidence, with the intent of tarnishing the state’s image and fueling enmity among different communities.
The teaser also attracted criticism from Congress leader VD Satheesan who said that the movie is a ‘clear case of misinformation and ‘Sangh Parivar agenda’. “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 was quoted.
He also said that there is no reliable evidence concerning the 32,000 missing females in Kerala and that no such record exists with the state police. He further demanded a ban on the film and asked the state CM to take action in the case failing which the party would approach the Court. Reportedly, a case has been registered under Section 153 A&B (promoting disharmony and enmity between different groups based on the ground of faith) and other sections of the Indian penal code.
On November 3, the teaser of the new film ‘The Kerala Story’ was released. The film 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 serve the people as a nurse. She further tells that she was forcefully converted to Islam and renamed Fatima Ba, and subsequently sent to ISIS to become a terrorist and ultimately get locked up in an Afghanistan jail.
