Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan condemns National Award for The Kerala Story, calls it deeply offensive

The Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, called out the National Award for awarding prizes to the controversial film The Kerala Story and called it an insult. The movie won the Best Director and Best Cinematography awards at the 2023 National Awards. The Kerala Story dealt with forced religious conversion and recruitment by the terrorist group ISIS in the state of Kerala.

Kerala CM says award legitimises misinformation

Taking to social media, Pinarayi Vijayan called about the legitazie of the award panel saying "By honouring a film that spreads blatant misinformation with the clear intent of tarnishing Kerala's image and sowing seeds of communal hatred, the jury of the National Film Awards has lent legitimacy to a narrative rooted in the divisive ideology of the Sangh Parivar."

“Kerala, a land that has always stood as a beacon of harmony and resistance against communal forces, has been gravely insulted by this decision. It is not just Malayalis, but everyone who believes in democracy, [who] must raise their voice in defence of truth and the constitutional values we hold dear.”

The Kerala Story controversy

The Kerala Story was directed by Sudipto Sen and followed the journey of four women from Kerala who are manipulated into converting to Islam and joining the Islamic State. The movie claimed that thousands of women from the state were forced to convert, but later the filmmakers were forced to add disclaimers stating that these figures were inaccurate and the movie is a fictional account of events.

The Kerala Story box office

The movie was released in India in May 2023 and grossed over ₹303.97 crore ($34.6 million) at the box office against a 20 crore ($2.2 million) budget, making it the ninth-highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. The cinematography for the film was helmed by Prasantanu Mohapatra. The cast of the film includes Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Sonia Balani, and Siddhi Idnani.