The Kerala Story

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The Kerala Story
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySudipto Sen
Written by
  • Suryapal Singh
  • Sudipto Sen
  • Vipul Amrutlal Shah
Produced byVipul Amrutlal Shah
Starring
CinematographyPrasantanu Mohapatra
Edited bySanjay Sharma
Music by
  • Viresh Sreevalsa
  • Bishakh Jyoti
Production
company
Sunshine Pictures[1]
Release date
  • 5 May 2023 (2023-05-05)
Running time
138 minutes[2]
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budgetest. ₹15–20 crore (US $1.8–2.4 million)[3]
Box officeest. ₹266.06 crore (US$33 million)[4]

The Kerala Story is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah.[1] It stars Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Sonia Balani, and Siddhi Idnani. The plot follows a fictional storyline of a group of women from Kerala who are coerced into converting to Islam and join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).[5][6] Marketed as a true story, the film is premised on the Hindutva conspiracy theory of "love jihad",[7] and falsely claims that as many as 50,000 women from Kerala have been converted to Islam and joined ISIS; the Observer Research Foundation and Indian government have estimated that no more than 100–200 Indians have joined the group, with people from Kerala accounting for less than a quarter of them.[8][9]

The film was theatrically released on 5 May 2023,[10] and become the second highest grossing Hindi film of 2023. Critics accorded it overwhelmingly negative reviews, characterizing the work as Islamophobic propaganda.[11][12][6] The film was heavily promoted by the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which leveraged the film in its campaigning for the Karnataka assembly election,[13][14] which it eventually lost.[15][16] The film has also faced protracted litigation and protests, primarily in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Indian National Congress, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) have also accused the filmmakers of defaming the state and promoting the agenda of the Sangh Parivar.

Plot

Shalini Unnikrishnan, a woman who converted to Islam, shares her harrowing journey of aspiring to become a nurse, only to be abducted from her home and coerced by extremist groups. She was eventually manipulated into joining ISIS and ended up imprisoned in Afghanistan.

Cast

Production and release

The film was produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, who is also the creative director of the film.[1] It was released in theatres on 5 May 2023.[17] The digital streaming rights of the film was purchased by ZEE5.[18] Prior to its domestic release, the film went through CBFC scrutiny and received an adults only classification following a number of requested changes.[19]

Premise and factual accuracy

The Kerala Story is captioned as being based on a real-life incident, while the statistics shown are not backed by any real evidence.[8][9][20] The makers of the film have claimed that the film is the true story of an instance of "love jihad",[7] a Hindutva conspiracy theory about non-Muslim women romanced and lured into marriage to convert them to Islam.[24]

The teaser released on 3 November 2022,[25] featured the character of Fathima Ba, a Hindu Malayali nurse who had converted to Islam and joined the ISIS, before ending up in an Afghan jail.[20] She claimed to be one of 32,000 girls from the Hindu and Christian communities, who are missing from Kerala and have been recruited to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) after being converted to Islam.[8] Sen, the director of the film, has made such claims for years.[20][8] In 2018, he had directed a documentary on what he claimed to be the involuntary mass-conversion of 32,000 Hindu and Christian girls to Islam as part of an "international conspiracy" to render Kerala an Islamic state.[26][27][28]

While the events portrayed in the film are loosely based on the accounts of three women from Kerala, namely: Nimisha Nair, Sonia Sebastian, and Merin Jacob, who converted to Islam and traveled with their respective husbands to Afghanistan to join ISIS between 2016 and 2018, the claimed figures in the film are wildly inaccurate, being based on mistranslations, misquotes and extrapolations from misrepresentations of unrelated statistics.[29][30][8] The Observer Research Foundation and Indian government have stated that no more than 100-200 Indians have joined the group from the entire country, with people from Kerala accounting for less than a quarter of them.[8] The figures posited in the film also exceed the entire strength of ISIS.[31]

The previous year, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had stated that "no complaints or clear information were received regarding forced conversion", and that, of the data available, "none of the figures validate the propaganda that girls are being lured into conversion and terrorist organizations".[32]

Later, in response to litigation, the film-makers removed all promotional materials, including the teaser, that had the erroneous figure.[33] However, the film repeated the claims multiple times and once raised it even higher to 50,000.[34] About a fortnight later, in response to further litigation, Sen admitted to all figures in the film being inauthentic, and that the film was a "fictionalized" portrayal of real-life events.[35]

Response

Promotion by Ruling party

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its associated organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have supported the film; the party used it for their political messaging in the campaigning for Karnataka assembly elections.[31][36]

Prime Minister Narendra Modi endorsed the film at an election rally in Karnataka, claimed that it had unearthed a "conspiracy", and alleged the Indian National Congress — which opposed the film — to have stood for terrorism.[36][37] BJP President J. P. Nadda held special screenings of the film and invited "young [Hindu] girls" to watch it with them.[36] The film was made tax free in Madhya Pradesh as well as Uttar Pradesh; both the states have BJP governments.[38] Organiser, the official mouthpiece of RSS, described the film as a "dangerous truth".[31]

Political Opposition

In Kerala, both the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Indian National Congress, the only two parties to have governed the state since Independence, have objected to the film for spreading "communal misinformation" in tune with the agenda of the Sangh Parivar.[20][39][40] In Tamil Nadu, protests were held by Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) and multiple Muslim political organizations.[11]

Public Protests

The film has attracted public protests in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.[37][41] The film fared poorly in Tamil Nadu, apparently forcing the Tamil Nadu Multiplex Association to stop further screenings; however, the filmmakers dispute the claims and allege political censorship.[11] The film had a limited release in Kerala with the expectation that the theatres running it will attract good collections but audience figures were very poor leading to multiplexes in Kerala such as PVR and Cinepolis withdrawing screenings.[41]

Bans and Litigation

On the eve of release, several petitions were filed at the Madras High Court, Kerala High Court and the Supreme Court of India, calling for a ban on grounds of promoting communal disharmony.[42] The petitions were either declined to be heard or dismissed by the courts;[43] however, the film-makers were asked to remove all promotional materials, including the teaser, that claimed thirty two thousand girls to have converted to Islam and joined ISIS in real life.[33]

On 8 May, the Government of West Bengal banned the movie, characterizing the film as "hate speech", and citing adverse intelligence reports that reported increased communal tensions in the audience.[44] The filmmakers challenged the decision in the Supreme Court and the ban was stayed.[45] However, the filmmakers had to accept the addition of two disclaimers — that the figures in the film were inauthentic, and the film was a "fictionalized" portrayal of real-life events.[35]

Reception

Critical reception

The film was critically panned, with Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV rated the film 0.5 out of 5 stars; a "lengthy WhatsApp forward", Sen's work was laughably inept and in pursuance of an insidious agenda.[46] Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express rated the film 1 star out of 5 star, characterizing the film a "poorly-made, poorly-acted rant" that flattened Muslims into absolute evils.[47] Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in found the raison d'être of the film to lie in propagating Islamophobia, with every Muslim character being coded as a fanatic.[48]

Anuj Kumar of The Hindu described the work as "burlesque" propaganda that borrowed its understanding of Islam, from "hate-filled Whatsapp groups" and sought to turn the audience into purveyors of hate by peddling "half-truths".[49][50] Deepanjana Pal, reviewing for Film Companion, commented that the film was a "Giant Whatsapp forward" that could be hardly called a film, critiquing it for being political propaganda aimed at demonizing Keralite Muslims and tapping into contemporary Hindu nationalist anxieties; Sen was "glaringly inept" in tackling the causes of radicalization with sensitivity and merely preyed upon the grief of real survivors and victims.[51] Sowmya Rajendran, reviewing for The News Minute, rated the film 1 star out of 5 star; she panned the film as "no-nuance propaganda" where women were treated as objects who were to be fought for between religions and ideologies by men.[34]

Box office

On its opening day, the film grossed ₹8.03 crore in India,[52] making it the fifth highest opener in India for 2023.[53] As of 21 May 2023, the film has grossed ₹254.13 crore (US$32 million) in India and ₹11.93 crore (US$1.5 million) overseas for a worldwide gross collection of ₹266.06 crore (US$33 million), becoming the second-highest grossing Hindi film of 2023.[54] The film performed well in northern India but only saw mediocre to poor response in the south.[41]

Music

No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Pagal Parindey"Ozil DalalSunidhi Chauhan, Bishakh Jyoti2:04
2."Ambo Ambambo"Viresh SreevalsaAthul Narukara1:52
3."Athira Ravil"Viresh SreevalsaK. S. Chithra2:07
4."Tu Mila"Ozil DalalK. S. Chithra2:07

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "'The Kerala Story', starring Adah Sharma, gets release date". The Hindu. PTI. 24 April 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Change City". m.inoxmovies.com. Archived from the original on 8 January 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  3. ^ "'Will rock box office': The Kerala Story destined to earn Rs 100 crore despite Bengal ban". Business Today (in Hindi). 10 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  4. ^ "Bollywood Top Grossers Worldwide 2023". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  5. ^ "Dozens held in India after Islamic State film row". BBC News. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  6. ^ a b "How a Low-Budget Hindi Film Ignited Deadly Religious Tension". Time. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Kerala Story: Film on alleged Indian ISIL recruits gets pushback". Archived from the original on 6 May 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "'32000 Kerala women in ISIS': Misquotes, flawed math, imaginary figures behind filmmaker's claim". Alt News. 8 November 2022. Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  9. ^ a b Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (9 November 2022). "Indian police investigating film that portrays Kerala as Islamic terrorism hub". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  10. ^ Nishad, Sneha Singh (26 April 2023). "'The Kerala Story' trailer out: Adah Sharma headlines a hard-hitting, thought-provoking story". Mid-Day. Archived from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  11. ^ a b c Bureau, The Hindu (7 May 2023). "The Kerala Story pulled out of multiplexes in Tamil Nadu". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 9 May 2023 – via www.thehindu.com.
  12. ^ "The Kerala Story: Why an Indian film on Islamic State is so controversial". BBC News. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  13. ^ "'The Kerala Story' takes centre stage as other issues pushed to back-burner in Karnataka polls". English.Mathrubhumi. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  14. ^ "PM invokes 'The Kerala Story' to slam Congress in Karnataka rally". The Times of India. 6 May 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  15. ^ "'The South Indian Story': Netizens' veiled jab after Karnataka poll results". Hindustan Times. 13 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  16. ^ "'Kerala Story' failed in Karnataka and Karnataka story will not repeat in Telangana: KTR". The Hindu. 13 May 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  17. ^ "Controversial film The Kerala Story to be released on May 5, trailer out". The News Minute. 26 April 2023. Archived from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  18. ^ "The Kerala Story OTT Rights Bought By This Leading Platform, Tentative Release Date Out". English Jagran. 8 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  19. ^ "Censor Board gives The Kerala Story 'A' certificate, removes 10 scenes, including interview with ex-CM". India Today. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  20. ^ a b c d "The Kerala Story: Film on India women in Islamic State sparks row". BBC News. 10 November 2022. Archived from the original on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  21. ^ Strohl, David James (11 October 2018). "Love jihad in India's moral imaginaries: religion, kinship, and citizenship in late liberalism". Contemporary South Asia. 27 (1). Routledge: 27–39. doi:10.1080/09584935.2018.1528209. ISSN 0958-4935. S2CID 149838857. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  22. ^ Sarkar, Tanika (1 July 2018). "Is Love without Borders Possible?". Feminist Review. 119 (1): 7–19. doi:10.1057/s41305-018-0120-0. ISSN 0141-7789. S2CID 149827310. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2020 – via SAGE Journals.
  23. ^ Waikar, Prashant (2018). "Reading Islamophobia in Hindutva: An Analysis of Narendra Modi's Political Discourse". Islamophobia Studies Journal. 4 (2): 161–180. doi:10.13169/islastudj.4.2.0161. ISSN 2325-8381. JSTOR 10.13169/islastudj.4.2.0161. Archived from the original on 26 March 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021 – via JSTOR.
  24. ^ [21]: 4 [22][23]
  25. ^ "The Kerala Story teaser out". Cinema Express. 3 November 2022. Archived from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  26. ^ Athimuthu, Soundarya (12 November 2022). "Who Made 'The Kerala Story' & Why Were They Embroiled in Controversies Before?". TheQuint.
  27. ^ Sharma, Kritika (30 April 2018). "I was trying to bust 'love jihad' theory, says film-maker at centre of JNU screening row". ThePrint.
  28. ^ "Film not on 'love jihad', says director". The Times of India. 1 May 2018.
  29. ^ "How accurate are the claims made by 'The Kerala Story'?". 2 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  30. ^ Khan, Fatima (9 September 2021). "Taliban back, desperate Kerala families hope couples who fled to Afghanistan for ISIS can return". ThePrint. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  31. ^ a b c Jha, Prem Shankar (8 May 2023). "Modi's Backing of Inflammatory, Fictional 'Kerala Story' Highlights Pressing Need for Opposition Unity". The Wire.
  32. ^ "100 Malayalis joined ISIS, all except six born into Muslim community, says CM Vijayan". Kaumudi.
  33. ^ a b "The Kerala Story producer agrees to remove '32,000 women converted' from teaser". India Today. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  34. ^ a b Rajendran, Sowmya (5 May 2023). "The Kerala Story review: A no-nuance propaganda film that thrives on shock value". The News Minute. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  35. ^ a b "Supreme Court stays West Bengal govt order banning film 'The Kerala Story'". The Indian Express. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  36. ^ a b c "PM Modi to JP Nadda, BJP leaders promote The Kerala Story amid Karnataka polls". The News Minute. 8 May 2023.
  37. ^ a b "As Producers Withdraw Misleading Claim, Modi Says 'Kerala Story' Exposes 'Ugly Truth' of Terrorism". The Wire. 5 May 2023.
  38. ^ "The Kerala Story: Dozens held in Maharashtra after Islamic State film row". BBC News. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  39. ^ "'The Kerala Story' in the dock". Deccan Herald. 9 November 2022. Archived from the original on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  40. ^ "Cong, DYFI, IUML youth wing demand ban on screening of 'The Kerala Story'". The Indian Express. 28 April 2023. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  41. ^ a b c Sasikumar, Meenakshy (8 May 2023). "Why Is 'The Kerala Story' Facing Pushback in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, & West Bengal?". TheQuint. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  42. ^ ""There are umpteen movies depicting Hindu sanyasis as rapists": Kerala High Court refuses to stay release of The Kerala Story". 5 May 2023.
  43. ^ "Kerala High Court refuses to stay screening of 'The Kerala Story'". The Indian Express. 5 May 2023.
  44. ^ Team, N. L. (17 May 2023). "'Contains hate speech, manipulated facts': Bengal govt defends ban on Kerala Story". Newslaundry. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  45. ^ "Supreme Court stays West Bengal govt order banning film 'The Kerala Story'". The Indian Express. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  46. ^ Chatterjee, Saibal (5 May 2023). "The Kerala Story Review: The Writing Is Consistently Cringeworthy, The Acting Is No Better". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 5 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  47. ^ Gupta, Shubhra (5 May 2023). "The Kerala Story movie review: A poorly-made, poorly-acted rant". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 5 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  48. ^ Ramnath, Nandini (5 May 2023). "'The Kerala Story' review: All about Islamophobia". Scroll.in. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  49. ^ Kumar, Anuj (5 May 2023). "'The Kerala Story' movie review: Adah Sharma's performance marred by half-truths and an emotionally exploitative gaze". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 6 May 2023 suggested (help)
  50. ^ Prateek Sur (12 May 2023). "'The Kerala Story' Movie Review: Adah Sharma's Film Is A Fantastic Guide On What Not To Do When Someone's Brainwashing You". www.outlookindia.com. Outlook. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  51. ^ Pal, Deepanjana. "The Kerala Story Movie Review: If WhatsApp Forwards Could Be a Film, This Would Be It". www.filmcompanion.in. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  52. ^ Tuteja, Joginder (6 May 2023). "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Box Office: Survives steep competition from Bollywood's The Kerala Story on Day 1". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 6 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  53. ^ Entertainment Desk (6 May 2023). "The Kerala Story box office collection Day 1: Sudipto Sen's film gets better opening than Selfiee, Shehzada, Kashmir Files; earns Rs 8.03 cr". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 6 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  54. ^ "The Kerala Story box office collection Day 4: Sudipto Sen's film does better than Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, nears Rs 50 crore mark". The Indian Express. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Kerala_Story&oldid=1157272021"