It’s been a few days since Vipul Shah and Sudipto Sen’s The Kerala Story hit the theatres. Since the topic is very sensitive and the plot highly complicated, it was expected that there would be strong opposition from certain communities and political parties.
Despite demands for a ban, the movie was successfully released in many states in the country. Interestingly, the movie that was meant for only information and entertainment purpose has now led to political disparities with big politicians making strong comments in favour or against The Kerala Story.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi supported TKS
Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave his full support to the film and raked up the topic during his speech in Karnataka. The PM slammed Congress for protesting the movie's release and said that the film 'exposes terror conspiracy and the ugly side of terrorism'.
Adah Sharma, the lead actress of the film and the producer, thanked the Prime Minister for mentioning their movie in his speech.
West Bengal bans The Kerala Story
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has decided to ban the movie citing the possibility of communal unrest. The order released by the CM’s office says that the decision has been taken to avoid violence and hatred incidences and maintain peace in the state.
This decision of the Mamata Banerjee government received strong disapproval from several BJP leaders with the party's National Vice-President Baijayant Panda slamming the Mamata government for its decision.
"It looks like The Kerala Story has severely unnerved some people. Who? Why do they not want the world to see the plight of young women from Kerala, brainwashed & exploited by ISIS? They failed to persuade our courts that it is anti Islam & should be banned. So they’re getting the leftover masters of the old ecosystem like Mamata Banerjee to block it in their states. It won’t work," said Panda.
The BJP VP further urged people to watch the movie and said, "India has gone beyond votebank pressure tactics. All Indians should see this movie, especially our Muslim citizens, whose daughters & sisters have been targeted."
Although the Tamil Nadu government did not ban this film, the Tamil Nadu Multiplex Association decided that they would not screen The Kerala Story after several Muslim groups including the Naam Tamilar Katchi started protesting against the film.
On the other hand, BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have decided to make the film tax-free so that more people can watch it.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has welcomed the release of The Kerala Story and has announced that he will watch the film with his cabinet ministers and family members. BJP leaders in Bengaluru have decided to watch the film in groups.
Shabana Azmi, Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher react
Kangana Ranaut was the first to respond to the protests against The Kerala Story. According to her, if the High Court has said that the movie cannot be banned as it does not show anyone in a bad light, rather it focuses only on the activities of the terrorist organization ISIS, those who are opposing the release are terrorists.
Director of The Kashmir Files, Vivek Agnihotri warned the team of The Kerala Story that they are going to get a lot of insult and hatred and their life is not going to be the same after this release.
Popular actor Anupam Kher, who was the lead star in The Kashmir Files, also supported the film and said that he is happy that films depicting reality are doing so well.
Veteran actress Shabana Azmi has said that if the Censor Board has passed the movie, no one has the right to boycott it.
Social media has mixed reactions
Social media has strongly reacted to The Kerala Story. Most of the users have supported it and a few even have cited real-life examples of such incidences of love jihad and atrocities on Hindu girls. Of course, there are a few who have called it propaganda; and some statements and comments have even reportedly triggered violence in a few areas of the country.
In a nutshell, despite all the threats to ban the movie, most Indians have accepted it as truth and are in favour of watching The Kerala Story.