The Kerala Story: The Kerala Story has created a buzz since it reportedly tells the story of how thousands of young women were brainwashed into joining the Islamic State (IS) and heading off to countries like Syria and Afghanistan. It focuses on the unverified claim that 32000 women from Kerala joined IS but official records reportedly show no such data.
Political parties in Kerala, like the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) and their youth organisations have opposed the release of this film in the state. Congress in Kerala has also opposed the film. Now members of the Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala (FEUOK) have stated that banning The Kerala Story was not of any use since the audience would watch the film when it releases on OTT anyway. FEUOK office bearer Suresh Shenoy, who owns a theater complex in Kochi, reportedly told the media that banning a film was not a good precedent. He added that this was akin to censorship.Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a Facebook post on April 30 that this movie was made by the Sangh Parivar to spread lies. The CM added, “A glance at the trailer gives the impression that the movie was deliberately produced with the aim of communal polarisation and spreading hate propaganda against Kerala. By placing Kerala, the land of secularism, as the centre of religious extremism, it is repeating the Sangh Parivar’s propaganda. Propaganda films and the othering of Muslims should be viewed in the context of various efforts made by the Sangh Parivar to gain an advantage in electoral politics in Kerala.”
