Congress Urges to stop screening of ‘The Kerala Story’

New Delhi (India), 29th April 2023: Kerala Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cheriyan called for a boycott of the film Kerala Story, citing it as a Sangh Parivar objective, while Opposition Leader V D Satheesan requested that it be banned completely.

The CPM and Congress officials claimed that the video, which reportedly portrays Kerala as an IS recruitment hotspot, is part of the Sangh Parivar’s plan to destabilise the country.

The film, which is set to be released on May 5, received harsh criticism when its teaser was posted.

The filmmakers revealed the release date in a press release earlier this week, along with a poster depicting a burqa-clad woman and the words “Uncovering the truth that was kept hidden.”

The Opposition Congress urged the government on Friday not to allow the controversial film The Kerala Story to be screened because it attempted to promote “communal divisions in society through false claims.”

The Kerala Story, written and directed by Sudipto Sen, “unearths” the events that led to “approximately 32,000 women” going missing in the southern state and reportedly being converted, radicalised, and deployed in terror missions across India and the world.

The Congress leader said, “Permission should not be given to screen the film which falsely claims that 32,000 women in Kerala have been converted into Islam and became members of ISIS.”

Satheesan said in a statement, “This is not an issue of freedom of expression but part of an attempt to implement the Sangh Parivar agenda of creating division in the society by casting aspersions on the minority groups.”

The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the ruling CPI(M)’s youth wing, also condemned the film, claiming that the trailer itself offended religious sensibilities.

The DYFI claimed in a Facebook post that the film’s makers were using the medium of cinema to sow religious differences in society and degrade the state’s image.