Explained: What Is The Controversy Around “The Kerala Story”?

May 3, 2023

Here's everything you need to know about the controversy around Sudipto Sen's upcoming film "The Kerala Story".

The Kerala Story: Directed by Sudipto Sen “The Kerala Story” is an upcoming drama film focusing on the forced conversion & radicalization of women in Kerala. Apparently, a petition was recently filed at the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the release of the film due to its storyline. Know why-

All About “The Kerala Story”

Directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, the drama film, “The Kerala Story” stars Yogita Bihani, Adah Sharma, Siddhi Idnani, and Sonia Balani in the lead roles. The film is set to release on 5th May.

The movie’s storyline focuses on the forced & radicalization of women in Kerala. The movie reportedly claims that almost 32,000 women in the state were allegedly forced to convert to Islam while many were taken to “ISIS”.

Controversy Around “The Kerala Story”

However soon after the trailer of the film was released a petition was filed in the supreme court demanding a stay on the film on the grounds of “worst kind of hate speech” and “audio-visual propaganda”. However, on Tuesday the court rejected the petition stating, “There are varieties of hate speeches. This film has got certification and has been cleared by the board.”

The board further added, “It’s not like a person getting on the podium and starts giving uncontrolled speech. If you want to challenge the release of the movie, you should challenge the certification and through appropriate forum,”

On the other hand, many political entities came out to criticize the film stating that the claims made by the film were baseless and “not true”. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor slammed the makers for indulging in “gross exaggeration” and “distortion” of the state’s reality. The politician further claimed that he would give 1cr to anyone who could prove that women were forced to convert to Islam in Kerala.

On Tuesday, director Sudipto Sen opened up on his upcoming film at the Jawaharlal Nehru University and told the media, “People should watch it, if you like it, it will be the biggest prize for me.” He added, “We have 100 percent trust in our courts, the court already gave a report that the film is a piece of art, it is not a hate speech. So, we think we will get justice. Truth triumphs in the end.”