'The Kerala Story': Congress requests Kerala government against its release

Vipul Amrutlal Shah's upcoming film The Kerala Story has been in the midst of controversies since its teaser was released last year. Earlier this week, the makers dropped the trailer of the film leading to fresh controversies as demands against its release are being made by many. Joining the list is the Congress party, which requested the Kerala government to not screen the movie.

• The Kerala Story is a film directed by filmmaker Sudipto Sen and backed by Shah.
• It stars actor Adah Sharma in the lead as Shalini Unnikrishnan/Fatima Ba. The title is reportedly based on the real-life incident involving the alleged systematic kidnapping of young women in Kerala who were converted to Islam and were then recruited by ISIS.

Congress's VD Satheesan, the Leader of Opposition in the Kerala State Assembly on Friday said that the upcoming project intended to tarnish Kerala's image at the global level. "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," said Satheesan while requesting the government against its release.

Satheesan, further in his statement, said, "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." The Congress leader also wrote, "No one should think that Kerala can be divided by spewing the poison of communalism."

According to the film's trailer which was released on Wednesday, The Kerala Story is based on true incidents of over 30,000 women who were allegedly converted to Islam and were later forced to join ISIS. The movie, also starring actors Pranay Pachauri, Sonia Balani, Yogita Bihani, Siddhi Idnani, and others, will be released in the theaters on May 5.