The trailer of Sudipto Sen’s forthcoming Islamophobic film ‘The Kerala Story’ changed figures from 32,000 to only three women after widespread backlash.
After facing flak nationwide and across the border, the trailer of the upcoming Indian film changed the number from 32,000 to the story of three women from the Indian state of Kerala, who were allegedly lured by Muslim youth to convert to Islam and were then taken to Afghanistan to join the militant Islamist group, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
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The initial trailer released by the makers claimed that the film depicts the ‘heart-breaking and gut-wrenching stories of 32,000 females in Kerala’. Since then, the political parties of the Indian state, both in government and in opposition, called out the makers for ‘gross exaggeration’ and even demanded a ban on film screening.
An Indian Muslim league youth wing even offered a reward of INR1 crore to anyone proving that 32,000 Kerala women were forcibly converted to Islam and made to join ISIS. In response, lawyer-actor C Shukkur also offered to reward INR11 lac to anyone who can name at least 32 Kerala women who had joined ISIS.
Following the backlash, the makers changed the trailer released on YouTube earlier, and replaced it with ‘true stories of three young girls from different parts of Kerala’.
From ‘Heartbreaking and gut-wrenching stories of 32000 females in Kerala! Coming Soon!’ TO ‘True story of 3 young girls from different parts of Kerala’.
Propaganda Movie teaser has NOW changed the description of ‘The Kerala Story’ on YouTube. pic.twitter.com/GIUAomaX5i— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) May 2, 2023
Kerala MP Shashi Tharoor, who earlier objected to the distortion of figures in the film, reacted to this change, tweeting, “The plot thickens. The filmmakers have updated the movie’s description on YouTube and changed ‘32,000 women’ to ‘3 women’. Earlier, they said the movie is about the “heartbreaking and gut-wrenching stories of 32,000 females in Kerala”. Now it says: “The Kerala Story is a compilation of the true stories of three young girls from different parts of Kerala”. I rest my case.”
Many are spreading this 2021 tweet of mine as if it undermines my present objections to the trailer & publicity for “The Kerala Story”. Yes, I was approached then by three Kerala mothers and was aware of a fourth, and I was open about my concerns about their daughters’… https://t.co/R8Vn1RsfpU
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 2, 2023
The film starring Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Sonia Balani and Siddhi Idnani, is set to hit theatres on May 5.
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