On Friday, the Kerala High Court refused to issue a stay on the release of the new movie named ‘The Kerala Story’ directed by Sudipto Sen. A community as secular as Kerala would accept the movie for what it is, the court noted, emphasising that the movie is fiction and not history. Screening the movie will not disrupt the communal harmony prevalent in Kerala, stated the court.
The court also rejected a petition seeking to declare that the ‘A’ certification issued by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for the movie should be declared illegal.
During the hearing, a division bench of Justices N Nagaresh and Sophy Thomas stated that the release of movies cannot be blocked just because it is deemed offensive by a certain section of society. “One religion says my God is the true God, that is allowed,” the court observed.
Court: One religion says my God is the true God, that is allowed.
— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) May 5, 2023
Counsel: Can they say your God is bad? No! Clergies are a different thing.
Court: If you make a speech that all Gods are bad, that is different. But cant I say in private?#KeralaHighCourt #KeralaStory
“The constitution gives freedom of faith. You can say my God is the only God. But if you say this to a person belonging to another religion, is it not offensive? But still, the constitution protects it,” the court said.
The Court stated that in one of the Malayalam movies named ‘Nirmalyam’ which was released earlier, it was shown that a pujari spits on an idol and no problem was there. “There was a famous award-winning movie wherein an oracle spits on the face of the idol of a goddess. No one found it objectionable,” the court said.
The bench led by Justices N Nagaresh and Sophy Thomas also questioned why the movie was generating so much buzz now when its teaser was released in November 2022. However, Advocate Dushyant Dave appearing for the petitioner said that the movie included conversations to incite hatred.
Bench: The trailer was released in November. But you are coming now.#KeralaHC #TheKeralaStory
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) May 5, 2023
“Certification of the film is in violation of statutory provisions and the Constitution of India. Films can cause serious damage to innocent minds. This may create a serious public law and order problem. Really, one should view the entire film. The trailer itself shows how dangerous it is,” Dave remarked adding that one particular community in the movie was depicted in a particular way.
To this, the Court said that there is nothing against the entire society in the trailer. “The board has seen it and advised cuts. This is not a historical movie. This is a story. It is fiction. In Kerala, we are so secular. There is a movie where a pujari spits on an idol and that was welcomed by society,” the bench reiterated.
“There are umpteen movies where Hindu sanyasis are depicted as smugglers or rapists. Nothing happens, and no one protests. Many such Hindi and Malayalam films are there,” the Court stated.
Court: There are umpteen number of movies where Hindu sanyasis are depicted as smugglers or rapists. Nothing happens, no one protests. Many such Hindi and Malayalam films are there.
— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) May 5, 2023
Dave: Merely because one wrong has been allowed..#KeralaHighCourt #KeralaStory #TheKeralaStory
Advocate Dushyant Dave then said that he respected the freedom of expression but “not if it is likely to create enmity, poison the minds of innocent people it must be curbed. He pleaded with the court to cease the telecast of the movie.
At this point, the Court noted that the movie is a piece of fiction and it is ‘based’ on true events. “They say it is inspired by true events. What is wrong with it? I don’t understand what is so provocative. Ours is a democracy with secularism embedded in it,” the bench noted after going through the transcripts of the trailer today.
Earlier on Thursday, the Kerala High Court had dismissed a public interest litigation petition which sought to ban the multilingual movie, ‘The Kerala Story’, contending that it makes a baseless claim of 32,000 Hindu and Christian women from Kerala having been converted to Islam and made to join the ISIS, an Islamist terror group.
Meanwhile, the producer of the film said that the figure of 32,000 women being converted to Islam was based on the information which the makers got. The producer has agreed to remove the teaser from the social media accounts which made the claim.
It is notable that The Kerala Story—written and directed by Sudipto Sen is based on the true stories of thousands of girls from Kerala who were converted to Islam and sent to Syria to become ISIS terrorists and sex slaves. The movie was released today, May 5.
