Sudipto Sen’s directorial and Vipul Amrutlal Shah’s production venture, The Kerala Story, that puts a spotlight on forced conversion and radicalization of women in the state has sparked a row. The protests and petitions against the film reached the Supreme Court. The court has refused to intervene in the matter with regards to a plea filed by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind. However, amid the raging controversy, the makers of the film changed the text of the introduction of the film in their latest teasers and trailers on YouTube. The film stars Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Sonia Balani and Siddhi Idnani, and is set to release on May 5.
The film centres around forced religious conversion and reportedly claims that approximately 32,000 women in Kerala were converted to Islam and many were taken to ISIS-ruled Syria for terror-related activities when the group was at peak of its power. However, now, the makers changed the YouTube description of the film’s trailer from heart-breaking and gut-wrenching stories of 32,000 females in Kerala’ to ‘compilation of the true stories of three young girls from different parts of Kerala.”
. The plot thickens. The filmmakers have updated the movie's description on YouTube and changed '32,000 women' to '3 women'. Earlier, they said the movie is about the "heartbreaking and gut-wrenching stories of 32,000 females in Kerala". Now it says: "The Kerala Story is a…
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 2, 2023
Following the release of the film’s trailer, a petition was filed at the Supreme Court seeking a stay on its release on the grounds of “worst kind of hate speech” and “audio-visual propaganda.” Politicians Shashi Tharoor and Kerala Chief Minister Pinaray Vijayan had slammed the makers of the film as well as “propaganda” by “the Sangh parivar” and accused them of indulging in “gross exaggeration” and “distortion” of the state’s reality. Kerala Congress leader MM Hassan even called a ban on the film claiming that it will incite communal disharmony.
However, the Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain the request, with the bench saying, “There are varieties of hate speeches. This film has got certification and has been cleared by the board. 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.” The bench comprised of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna.
3 days - 1.3 Cr viewer - No big star - No Studio - Only honesty - Only truth - Only commitment!
THE KERALA STORY for you!
All are welcome to watch the film. ALL... @adah_sharma #VipulAmrutlalShah #TheKeralaStory pic.twitter.com/qO2Hj7JYre— Sudipto SEN (@sudiptoSENtlm) April 29, 2023
After hearing submissions, the top court said the relief sought under Article 32 can be pursued before the high court and said, “We do not entertain it on this ground and we grant liberty to the petitioners to move the high court. The high court can take this up for early hearing.” The bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said it cannot allow the Supreme Court to become a "super Article 226 court" (a super high court) and entertain everything raised using Article 32. He asked the petitioners, i.e, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind to approach the High Court as Article 226 provides for high courts to issue instructions or writs to government authorities and Kerala High Court judges are aware of local situations.
Despite changing the description of the film on YouTube, director Sudipto Sen and producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah insist that The Kerala Story is based on true events. Shah told a news agency, “If we look at the issue, the number of 32,000 is what we have stated and we are staying by it.”
(Source: PTI/Twitter/YouTube)
