The row over the controversial film The Kerala Story continues unabated with many in Kerala and outside the state calling for a ban on the film for allegedly fudged figures about a number of women who converted to Islam and later joined ISIS in Syria. The movie’s director has finally spoken up on the figure of conversion of women.
The Kerala Story producer Vipul Shah and director Sudipto Sen specifically dismissed the claims that their latest film propagates hatred against the Muslim community. The Kerala Story, starring Adah Sharma, revolves around a Hindu Woman from Kerala who is converted to Islam and trafficked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
Reacting to the allegations. Shah said in a press conference in Mumbai, “Sholay had Gabbar Singh as a villain. But that didn’t mean Ramesh Sippy Sahab was against Singh's community. Singham was a Hindu villain. That didn’t mean Hindus are bad. Why is this biased judgment against us? We have only talked about the perpetrators.”
When asked why there was no single redeeming Muslim character in The Kerala Story, Sudipto Sen said, “We are not here to do a balancing act. The whole world is going through this. When we talk about terror, we can’t automatically assume that we are targeting the religion. We have done a great service to Islam.”
Sen also claimed that “There are two Keralas that exist inside Kerala-one which is like a postcard with backwaters, beautiful landscape, Kalarippayattu, dance, and martial arts. The other Kerala- the northern part -Malappuram, Kasaragod, Kozhikode which connects to Karnataka including Mangaluru, is a terror-network hub”.
Certain political parties questioned the makers of The Kerala Story over their now-withdrawn claim that 32,000 women from Kerala were converted to Islam and reunited with ISIS. Reacting to the same, Vipul Shah also added, “ We told the story of 32,000 women through these 3 women. People tried to discredit us by picking up 32,000. What we are saying is that this is a story of 32,000 through 3 women.
The Kerala Story is on a roll. It has become the second highest-grossing Hindi film of 2023 beating Ranbir Kapoor’s Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar and Salman Khan’s Kisi ka Bhai Kisi ki Jaan. The Kerala Story has already crossed Rs 150 crore at the box office.
