New Delhi: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has issued a strongly worded statement condemning the upcoming Hindi film, The Kerala Story 2. The trailer, released earlier this week, claims to be based on true events and shows the plight of girls trapped in forced conversion cases.
“The release of a second part of The Kerala Story, which was made with the agenda of spreading hatred against Kerala and insulting our secular traditions, should be seen seriously,” Vijayan said in the statement.
The film’s trailer opens with a warning: India will become an Islamic state in the next 25 years.
The film is the second part of The Kerala Story, which depicts four women who convert to Islam before being recruited by the Islamic State. It was released in Kerala in April 2024, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The sequel is set to be released ahead of the Assembly elections in the state this year.
Directed by Kamakhya Narayan Singh and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond shows three women—from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Kerala—being lured by Muslim men to marry and then forced to convert.
The trailer shows the women’s parents repeatedly warning them against marrying a Muslim man. This is followed by shots of Muslim men unleashing abuse on the three women after marriage. This includes forcing them to eat beef, physical abuse, and even soliciting them for other men.
“They (the filmmakers) are spreading false propaganda by portraying even marriages conducted with mutual consent as examples of communalism and forced religious conversion,” Vijayan said.
He added that ‘such forces’ are hostile toward Kerala, a state with no communal riots and a tradition of mutual respect among communities. Terming them “enemies of the state,” he said that they were attempting to destroy the peace and tranquillity of the region through such films.
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‘False propaganda’
In his statement, Vijayan questioned how ‘poisonous works’ that spread division and hatred in society were allowed to be screened, while the film Beef was barred from the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK).
Nineteen films were initially denied screening at IFFK in December, including Palestinian films Palestine 36, All That’s Left of You, and Wajib, as well as Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 classic Battleship Potemkin.
“We must collectively reject attempts to portray Kerala, a land of religious harmony that stands at the forefront of sustainable development and is a model in maintaining law and order, as a center of terrorism. It is the responsibility of each of us to ensure that Kerala’s secular foundation is not undermined by false propaganda and to reject it by upholding the values of secularism and brotherhood,” the statement read.
The Kerala Story, directed by Sudipto Sen, was banned by the Mamata Banerjee-led government in West Bengal and theatre owners in Tamil Nadu decided not to screen it. However, it went on to be a box office success, grossing over Rs 302 crore worldwide. It was made on a budget of Rs 15 crore. The film also won two National Film Awards—for director Sudipto Sen and cinematographer Prasantanu Mohapatra.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)