Sudipto Sen’s ‘The Kerala Story’ is permeated in Lies and Fabricated Stats

• The Kerala Story was screened at thousands of Indian cinema halls this May. However, people were more interested in watching the political debates surrounding it rather than the movie itself.

• The movie is criticized for presenting false data and is even accused of spreading hate speech.

The Teaser

3^rd November, 2022, The Kerala Story’s teaser shows that 32000 women converted to Islam in the state of Kerala, and were sent to Syria and Yemen for the purpose of brainwashing and terror-related crime. The number ‘32000’ is a huge blunder here because the movie director Sudipto Sen, later, without any explanation, changes this number amid the release of the movie’s trailer in 2023.

Fact Checking

One Indian news group, Alt News asked the movie maker about the source of his data. Sudipto Sen replied that it was based upon an old statement given by Oommen Chandy, the chief minister of Kerala in 2010 that nearly 3200 women had converted to Islam. However, Chandy said that there was ‘no evidence’ for forced conversions in the state and the fears about love jihad were baseless. It is almost comical that the director multiplied 3200 by 10, making it 32000, assuming that after ten years, the number of converts might have been multiplied by 10.

In a turn of events, the movie maker changes the number from 32000 to just 3 women when the movie finally released. The cast of the film then try their best to avoid questions regarding this change. However, in a video from a screening in New Delhi’s ‘Jawaharlal Nehru University’ on 2 May, the director of the film, Sudipto Sen responded to a question on the said figure, saying: “Do you think the number actually matters? The 32,000 number is an arbitrary number.” The Quint reached out to the director for his response, but he said that he would not comment on the matter.

The Controversy

The truth really speaks for itself. If there were really just 3, not 32000 converts who were sent to other nations then why such a conspiracy? If there were so few in number, then it’s more of an individual case rather than a state level disaster, as the film portrays it to be so. From dialogue to acting, everything has been exaggerated and served to the audience. Political groups in northern India and a prominent section of the media treats it like a controversy, which is their way of dividing citizens by misleading information. Such drama targets sensitive audience and may ignite communal riots outside the movie halls as well.

The Audience Reacts

The ruling party BJP supporters have as expected, liked the movie but ironically, ‘The Kerala Story’ has flopped in Kerala itself. The movie with a budget of $360K could barely make $60K on the box office. It is only a hit for those politicians who use such works to distract people from local issues and convince them to vote for their political parties on the basis of religion and caste.

A film that is set up on a foundation of false facts, misinterpreted articles and propaganda that incorrectly portrays Muslims in India, is not something new. Another such film named ‘The Kashmir Files’, served the same purpose. However, the truth cannot remain hidden and it shall prevail. Many fractions of the Muslim ummah aim to tackle hate with love and lies with truth and will undoubtedly continue to do so.