What is ‘The Kerala Story’ controversy? Will it be banned in India by censor board after backlash?

The Kerala Story Controversy: Bollywood film ‘The Kerala Story’ has been in the spotlight since the release of its trailer a few days ago. Directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, the film shows how ISIS abducted 32000 Hindu girls from Kerala to make them victims of love jihad and get them involved in terror-related activities. Adah Sharma is playing the lead role in the film, Many political leaders have objected to the film, claiming that it spreads hate and should be banned. 

The Kerala Story has courted controversy for portraying itself as a real story and for making false claims that thousands of women from Kerala are being converted to Islam and recruited into ISIS, it faces allegations of promoting the Sangh Parivar’s agenda. 

Recently, political leader Shashi Tharoor slammed the makers and said that ‘it may be *your* Kerala story. It is not *our* Kerala story.’ He further tweeted, “Let me stress, I am not calling for a ban on the film. Freedom of expression does not cease to be valuable just because it can be misused. But Keralites have every right to say loud & clear that this is a misrepresentation of our reality.”

What is The Kerala Story about?

In ‘The Kerala Story’, actress Adah Sharma is playing the role of Fathima Ba, a Hindu Malayali nurse, who is among the 32,000 women who went missing from Kerala and were then recruited to the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) after being forced to convert to Islam.

“I’m glad we can spread awareness with this film and people giving me so much love and support feels good always. As for performance, I’d credit the makers entirely. The director, the writer, the cinematographer,” said the actress.

About the controversy that surrounds the film, Adah said, “Our film is about girls getting drugged, brainwashed, raped, human trafficking, forcefully impregnated and then raped again by multiple people sometimes, the child they deliver been taken away and them being made suicide bombers.”

“It’s about life and death! for the few who are saying its propaganda, I guess once they watch the film with all the facts they will say otherwise.”

Talking about the film, Vipul Shah earlier said, “The film is an amalgamation of years of research and true stories which have never been dared to be told before, it will uncover many hidden truths that have been hidden for long. It will uncover the dangerous threat radicalisation poses to the women of our nation and will create awareness about this conspiracy being hatched against India. The film aims to become the voice of tens of thousands of women across the globe who have been indoctrinated and exploited for terrorism and other crimes.”

Apart from Adah, the film also features Yogita Bihani, Sonia Balani and Siddhi Idnani. It is slated to hit theatres on May 5.

Will it be banned in India by censor board after backlash?

Amid the political storm and severe backlash, it is speculated that ‘The Kerala Story’ may get banned in India by the Censor Board. Many political leaders have urged the BJP-led Centre to forbid the film from screening. Even the Kerala Government has refused to support the film.

However, this decision to ban the film lies with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) which hasn’t made any announcement to ban the film yet.

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