The Kerala Story controversy: What is it, why are people talking about it and what is the entire tryst with the number ‘32000’ – explained.
Director Sudipto Sen’s ‘The Kerala Story’ is at the heart of a national controversy. The trailer of the film earlier claimed that it is about the story of 32000 women who were forcefully converted to Islam in the state and were trafficked to join ISIS. It has been challenged by many for allegedly ‘exaggerating’ the facts and propagating ‘Sanghi Parivar’s’ agenda ahead of the Karnataka assembly election.
WHERE DID THE PROBLEM BEGIN?
The Kerala Story is produced by Vipul Amritlal Shah and features Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Sonia Balani and Siddhi Idnani. The film is set to release on May 5. The first trailer of the film, claiming that it is based on the lives of the 32,000 women who were allegedly forced to convert to Islam, was released a week back on YouTube. After the purported number created a stir online and the makers couldn’t justify the factual accuracy of the same, the information was modified on the platforms and the number ‘32000’ was reduced to ‘3’. The description on the YouTube trailer that initially read “heartbreaking and gut-wrenching stories of 32,000 females in Kerala…” was toned down to read like “true stories of three young girls from Kerala.”
A MATTER OF HATE SPEECH?
As the uproar grew, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor called out the filmmakers for alleged ‘gross exaggeration’ and ‘distortion’ of reality in the state. Even though the claims were modified later, Tharoor in his tweet on Monday said he would give Rs 1 crore to anyone who can prove that 32,000 women in Kerala were really converted to Islam in Kerala.
Despite the change in the numbers following the criticism, Shah maintained that he stands by the claims. Speaking to PTI, “If we look at the issue, the number of 32,000 is what we have stated and we are staying by it.”
Amid protests and uproar, the Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to put a stay on the release of the film, saying that it’s not under its jurisdiction. The bench hearing the plea arrived at the decision and maintained that it’s not ‘hate speech’. The bench said, “There are varieties of hate speeches. This film has got certification and has been cleared by the board. It’s not like a person getting on the podium and starts giving an uncontrolled speech. If you want to challenge the release of the movie, you should challenge the certification and through the appropriate forum.”
DIRECTOR STANDS WITH THE ‘32000’ FIGURE
On Tuesday, the filmmakers had a special screening of the film at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) during which director Sudipto Sen talked about his claims regarding the alleged number of religious conversions. While answering a question during a session at the university, he said, “Do you think the number actually matters? The 32,000 number is an arbitrary number. It is based on facts (sic).”