“The Kerala Story” is a Hindi-language film directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah. The movie follows the story of a group of women from Kerala who converted to Islam and joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). However, the movie has been criticized for falsely claiming that thousands of women from Kerala were being converted to Islam and recruited into ISIS.
The film’s premise and factual accuracy have been challenged by various political parties and organizations in Kerala. According to reports, the statistics shown in the movie are not backed by any real evidence, and the film’s claimed figures are widely inaccurate. For instance, the movie claims that 32,000 girls from Hindu and Christian communities in Kerala have been recruited to ISIS after being converted to Islam. However, this figure is based on mistranslations, misquotes, and extrapolations from misrepresentations of unrelated statistics.
According to the Indian government figures, not more than a total of 100 – 200 Indians had joined ISIS over the years, and one of the smallest figures of any country with a substantial Muslim population. The events portrayed in the film seem to be inspired by four women from Kerala who converted to Islam and traveled with their husbands to Afghanistan to join ISIS between 2016 and 2018. They were part of a 21-member group from Kerala to join ISIS in 2016 and remain incarcerated in Afghanistan since surrendering in 2019.
Opposition to the movie’s release has come from various political parties, including the Indian National Congress and Communist Party of India (Marxist), who have objected to the release of the film for propagating communal misinformation. They have further alleged that the filmmakers are promoting the agenda of the Sangh Parivar of defaming Kerala and propagating the idea of “love jihad,” a Hindutva conspiracy theory. However, the producer of the movie has defended the film, stating that Sudipto Sen had conducted four years of research for the film and that “nothing we say will be without evidence.”
The movie’s release was subject to an investigation after a Tamil Nadu-based journalist filed a complaint with the Kerala chief minister stating that false propaganda was being done against Kerala, and communal harmony was being destroyed. However, as of 15 November 2022, an FIR was not filed. On the day of the movie’s release, the Kerala High Court refused to stay the release of the film, saying that the allegations in the movie were about ISIS and not a particular religion.
The movie has also faced criticism for its depiction of radicalization and promoting communal hatred. The Times of India rated the movie 3 out of 5 stars, praising Adah Sharma’s acting but criticizing the film’s extreme portrayal of radicalization. NDTV rated the movie 0.5 out of 5 stars, calling it a “lengthy WhatsApp forward in the guise of a movie which is far from reality” and criticizing the acting and writing of the film.
In terms of box office collections, on its opening day, the movie grossed ₹8.03 crore in India, surpassing the earnings of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which also released on the same day. However, the controversy surrounding the movie’s factual accuracy and depiction of communal tension has overshadowed its box office success.
