Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday strongly criticised the decision to give two National Film Awards to The Kerala Story, calling it a serious insult to the state. The film’s director Sudipto Sen won the award for Best Director and Prasantanu Mohapatra was named Best Cinematographer.
The film, which was released in May 2023, claimed that several women from Kerala were converted to Islam and recruited by the Islamic State. Initially, the filmmakers claimed that 32,000 women had joined ISIS, but after being questioned about the accuracy, they changed the trailer to say the film was based on the lives of three girls.
Vijayan said the film spreads “blatant misinformation” and accused the jury of supporting a film that promotes communal hatred. He said, “By honouring a film that clearly aims to tarnish Kerala’s image and create division, the jury has given credibility to the divisive ideology of the Sangh Parivar.” He added, “Kerala, which has always stood for harmony, has been insulted. This is not just an attack on Malayalis, but also on democratic values. Everyone who believes in truth and the Constitution must speak out.”
Congress leader KC Venugopal also condemned the awards, saying the film “deserves to be in the dustbin.” He said, “It pushes a hateful agenda and insults the beautiful state of Kerala.” Venugopal called the decision “a perfect example of how the BJP promotes hate even through national recognitions.”
He warned that the people of Kerala will not forget this insult. “They will punish the BJP so badly that it won’t even dream of winning support in Kerala for generations to come,” he said.
