Sudipto Sen, the director of the recent box office success ‘The Kerala Story’ indicated on Wednesday, July 26 that he is not scared to make a film about the ongoing Manipur issue and the violence attached to it. “I have the guts and courage to make films on anything I understand and am convinced with. No threat can stop my work,” he tweeted.
This is after one of the Twitter users poked Sen asking him that would he attempt to make a movie on the Manipur issue as he did on the Kerala issue. “If I can make film on the world’s deadliest terror outfits like ISIS and Maoists, I can make films on Manipur issue also. But the ethnic wars in Northeastern India is very complex. Trying to understand now very keenly,” he added.
Further calling the Manipur issue a bit complex, Sen said that he would take time to understand the ethnic war issue before making the reel. “I researched on Kerala issue or Bastar for years before making the films. The day I shall come up with an authentic and well-researched story – I promise I shall make the film too,” he said.
Yes sir. I have gut and courage to make films on anything I understand and convinced with. No threat can stop my work – be rest assured. If I can make film on world's deadliest terror outfits like ISIS and Maoists, I can make films on Manipur issue also. But the ethnic wars in… https://t.co/UBhIUcR3P0
— Sudipto SEN (@sudiptoSENtlm) July 26, 2023
The movie The Kerala Story which was recently released happened to break the box office records. The movie written and directed by Sudipto Sen, revolves around Shalini Unnikrishnan, played by Adah Sharma, an innocent Hindu woman from Kerala who is brainwashed by her Muslim friend and gets converted to Islam and marries a Muslim man. She later realises that she has been trapped in a huge terrorist web after which she is raped, separated from her only child, and then forced to serve as a sex slave.
Sen also said that he would make a film on the Manipur issue after knowing in detail about the very complex ethnic wars happening in the Northeastern part of the country.
As reported earlier, the ongoing violence in Manipur erupted after a rally by the All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) on May 3 in protest against the proposed inclusion of people belonging to the Meitei community in the list of Scheduled Tribes (STs).
While the tribal groups have been opposing the demand of the Meitei community’s demand for ST status for years, the recent protests and violence were triggered by a Manipur High Court order on 27 March, directing the Manipur state government to submit recommendations to the union government for the inclusion of Meitei in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) list. The court had issued the order after several petitions filed by Meitei activists seeking the said direction.
The high court also criticized the state government for dragging the issue for over 10 years. The demands by Meities started with a memorandum submitted to the governor in November 2012 by the Scheduled Tribes Demand Committee of Manipur Valley (STDCM). The committee then met Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh in December 2012 with the demand and then met prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh in July 2013 with the demand. However, the PM then asked them to discuss the matter with the state cabinet.
The recent violence however got massive attention after the horrifying viral video of women being paraded naked surfaced from Manipur. The video sent shock waves across the country attracting demands of strict punishment against such heinous crime. The perpetrators were later arrested by the state police.
