Congress, CPM urge govt to ban screening of 'The Kerala Story'

The Democratic Youth Federation of India and the youth wing of the ruling CPI(M), also lashed out against the film and said its trailer itself hurt religious sentiments

Kerala Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cheriyan made a call for boycotting the film Kerala Story terming it as Sangh Parivar agenda, while Opposition leader V D Satheesan demanded that the film should be banned.

The CPM and Congress leaders said that the film that allegedly portrays Kerala as a recruitment haven of IS was part of Sangh Parivar agenda to destroy the harmony in the country.

The film, which is scheduled to be released on May 5, had invited strong criticism earlier itself when its teaser was released.

The Opposition Congress on Friday urged the government not to give permission to screen the controversial movie The Kerala Story, as it aimed to create "communal divisions in society through false claims".

According to the filmmakers, The Kerala Story, written and directed by Sudipto Sen, "unearths" the events behind "approximately 32,000 women" going missing in the southern state who have allegedly converted, radicalised and deployed in terror missions in India and the world.

"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," the Congress leader said.

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The trailer of the film itself tells what the movie is trying to say, Satheesan said here 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."

"No one should think that Kerala can be divided by spewing the poison of communalism," he said adding that the state would stand united -- as has been its tradition -- against this "deliberate move to foster religious rivalry".

The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth wing of the ruling CPI(M), also lashed out against the film and said its trailer itself hurt religious sentiments.

In a hard-hitting Facebook post, the DYFI alleged that the medium of cinema was being misused by the makers of the movie to create communal divisions in society and to tarnish the image of the state.

The Left outfit also sought stern action against the film.

In a press note issued earlier this week, the filmmakers announced the release date with a poster that shows a burqa-clad woman with a tagline "Uncovering the truth that was kept hidden."

The film's writer-director Sudipto Sen's earlier movies are Aasma, Lucknow Times and The Last Monk.

The Kerala Story is backed by Sunshine Pictures Private Limited, founded by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, who serves as the producer, creative director and co-writer on the film.

(With PTI inputs)