Kerala Story, a film about the forced conversion and radicalization of women to Islam in Kerala, has created a huge controversy. Petitions challenging the release of the film reached the Supreme Court. The court refused to intervene in the matter. Directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amritlal Shah, ‘The Kerala Story’ stars Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Sonia Balani and Siddhi Eidna in lead roles and is set to release on May 5.
The film centers around forced conversions and claims that around 32,000 women were converted to Islam in Kerala and many were taken to ISIS-ruled Syria. A petition was filed in the Supreme Court to ban the release of the film, calling it the worst kind of hate speech and audio video propaganda. However, the Supreme Court refused to grant a stay.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan criticized the makers of the film and called it a smear of the “Sangh Parivar”. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor accused the makers of the film of “gross exaggeration” and “distortion” of the state’s reality. Tharoor tweeted on Monday that he would offer a reward of ₹1 crore to anyone who could prove that 32,000 women in Kerala were allegedly forced to convert to Islam. The film’s director Sudipto Sen and producer Vipul Amritlal Shah insist that ‘The Kerala Story’ is based on true events.
