The Indian entertainment media has a knack for producing anti-Muslim and/or anti-Pakistani projects that tend to show a cliched and biased view of the life of Muslims and Pakistani people. Even after the Sidharth Malhotra-starrer Mission Majnu turned out to be a cringe-inducing laughing stock, the industry did not take any notes. With yet another project in the pipeline, preparations for the release propaganda film, The Kerala Story, have been completed before the elections in India.
This new film will be released in Indian theaters on May 5. Many political and social figures, including the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, have called it ”propaganda.”
The Kerala Story claims that around 32 thousand women went missing from Kerala and joined ISIS, after accepting Islam and have been sent to other countries of the world for terrorist activities, especially in the states of Iraq and Syria.
According to Indian media portals, the Chief Minister of Kerala accused the film’s producer and writer, Vipul Amrit Lal Shah of promoting the propaganda of Sangh Parivar through the film, which aims to use “‘Love Jihad.”
In a statement, the CM said, “The trailer of the Hindi film The Kerala Story, which appears to have been deliberately made with the aim of communal polarisation and to spread hate propaganda against Kerala was released last day. It is indicated from the trailer that this film is trying to spread the propaganda of Sangh Parivar, which has established itself as the centre of religious extremism in the land of secularism, Kerala.”
“It is necessary to see propaganda films and their Muslim alienation in the background of various efforts being made by Sangh Parivar to gain an advantage in electoral politics in Kerala. It is part of a systematic move to frame the ‘love jihad’ allegations which were rejected by the investigating agencies, the courts and even the Union Home Ministry. G Kishan Reddy, the then MoS Home who is a minister in the cabinet even today had replied in the Parliament that there is no such thing as ‘love jihad,'” he added.
“Seeing that Parivar politics does not work in Kerala like in other places, they are trying to spread division politics through fake stories and movies. The Sangh Parivar is spreading such myths without any facts and evidence. The big lie that 32,000 women in Kerala converted to Islam and joined the Islamic State was what we saw in the trailer of the film. This fake story is the product of the Sangh Parivar’s lie factory,” the CM shared.
The film discredited the Kerala state by showing it as a hotbed of religious extremism.
Many socio-political leaders of India have rejected the allegations made in this film by announcing a boycott of the film. CPI(M) MP, John Brittas, urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah and demanded action against the project. Brittas claimed that 32,000 women converting and joining terrorist forces is “absolutely rubbish and fallacious.”
Teaser of ‘The Kerala Story’, falsely claims that 32000 women from Kerala were converted to IS & send abroad. Being widely circulated, this severly threatens harmony, secularism& national unity apart from defaming Kerala. Wrote to @AmitShah ji& @ianuragthakur ji for urgent action pic.twitter.com/spWh8su4l4
— John Brittas (@JohnBrittas) November 9, 2022
Shashi Tharoor added, “It may be *your* Kerala story. It is not *our* Kerala story.”
It may be *your* Kerala story. It is not *our* Kerala story. pic.twitter.com/Y9PTWrNZuL
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 30, 2023
Makers of Nazi Propaganda movie ‘The Kerala Story’ changed YouTube discription.
Kerala govt should file case against them, and ask them to provide evidence to support their claim. pic.twitter.com/jpclRfp5bN
— Md Asif Khan (@imMAK02) May 2, 2023
On the flip side, the lead actress Ada Sharma, defended her project.
“#TheKeralaStory isn’t about, elections , agenda, religion vs religion.. it is about something much bigger. LIFE and DEATH ! It is about Terrorism vs Humanity. Calling it propaganda is covering up the story of each girl whose life was destroyed,” she tweeted.
. #TheKeralaStory isn’t about, elections , agenda, religion vs religion.. it is about something much bigger. LIFE and DEATH ! It is about Terrorism vs Humanity. Calling it propaganda is covering up the story of each girl whose life was destroyed ???? pic.twitter.com/T4fkBRGB9D
— Adah Sharma (@adah_sharma) April 29, 2023
The Legislative Assembly elections in the Indian state of Karnataka are scheduled to be held on 10 May 2023 to elect all 224 members of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly.
India fanning anti-Pakistan agenda in multiple domains: DG ISPR
