Tamil Nadu On High Alert Ahead Of ‘The Kerala Story’ Movie Release
Tamil Nadu is on high alert ahead of the pan-India release of the controversial film ‘The Kerala Story’ on May 5, officials close to developments said on Wednesday.
“Some groups have called for protests. Our intelligence wing has taken note of their messages on social media,” said a top government official on the condition of anonymity.
“Some Islamic groups have also approached the police in a few districts seeking a ban. But the government is not banning it. Even Kerala has not banned it. We have, however, relayed the alerts to all the law enforcement agencies to remain on high alert,” the official added.
The official also confirmed that reports that the intelligence wing has recommended that the government “must not release The Kerala Story are incorrect”.
“The Intelligence officers have not given us any such recommendation, and the government has not taken any decision on it,” the official said.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain pleas for stalling the release of The Kerala Story and directed the petitioners to approach the Kerala high court, where similar petitions are pending.
The Muslim clerical body Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind approached the top court after the film’s trailer was released.
The petitioners have said that the film demeans the entire community and will endanger the lives and livelihood of Muslims. Besides seeking a stay on the movie’s release, the petition sought a disclaimer stating that the film is a work of fiction and its characters bear no resemblance to any person living or dead.
“The movie begins by flashing a note that it has been inspired by true events…. it is falsely stated that 32,000 girls have left Kerala for West Asia to join ISIS even though the United Nations, the Union Home Ministry, police sources, and experts agree that the number of Indians who left to join ISIS is around 66 and the maximum number of pro-ISIS persons who may have shown inclination towards ISIS is in between 100 and 200,” the petition said.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan accused the “Sangh Parivar” and the makers of the film of “sowing the poisonous seeds of communalism” describing the film as propaganda.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday offered ₹1 crore to anyone who can prove that 32,000 women in Kerala were forced to convert to Islam. National award-winning cinematographer P C Sreeram from Tamil Nadu tweeted on Wednesday, “What is this “The Kerala story” Is it the same as the famous obscene propaganda film “Kashmir files”?”