Thiruvananthapuram:
As controversial movie “The Kerala Story” is set to hit the screen on May 5, the Congress on Friday urged the government not to give screening permission for the film which it said was “full of lies and painted the Muslim community in bad light.”
The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), youth wing of the ruling CPI(M), also came down heavily on the movie saying the “Sangh Parivar was using an even popular medium to humiliate the state and whole community.” Two months back its trailers were released and they triggered protests in the state. The film is directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Shah and it is taken in the backdrop of 2016 missing case of 21 people from north Kerala who reportedly joined the Islamic State-held areas of Syria and Afghanistan.
“The film is a bundle of lies. It says 32,000 women were converted and sent to Islamic State-held areas. Its trailer gave enough hints of its content. It is intended to defame the state and community and Sangh Parivar outfits are behind this,” said opposition leader V D Satheesan. He said this was part of a vicious agenda to sow seeds of hatred and religious animosity but people of Kerala will stand united to defeat such forces.
The DYFI said the movie was intended to portray the state in bad light. “The Sangh Parivar has been trying to portray the state as the hub of religious fanatics and anti-national forces. This is part of its ploy for communal polarisation but this will not work in a state like Kerala. The state will stand as a cradle of secularism and democratic values,” it said in a statement. Earlier the Muslim League, an ally of the Congress, had threatened agitation against the movie saying “it demonised the whole community”.