09 May 2023, Mumbai: The claims made in ‘The Kerala Story’ about 32,000 missing women in the state have been a subject of significant controversy due to the lack of evidence to support them.
On Saturday, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, announced that ‘The Kerala Story’ would be exempt from taxes in the state, citing the film’s portrayal of love jihad, religious conversion, and terrorism as reasons for its exemption.
According to Chouhan, the film depicts the devastating consequences faced by daughters who fall prey to love jihad, and it also reveals the tactics used by terrorists.
Chouhan further stated that even though there is already a law in place against forced conversion, ‘The Kerala Story’ plays a crucial role in raising awareness about this issue. Therefore, he believes that the film should be watched by everyone, and that is why the Madhya Pradesh government has decided to exempt it from taxes. Sudipto Sen directed and wrote the film, ‘The Kerala Story’, which features Adah Sharma and was released on May 5. However, the film received significant backlash after its teaser falsely claimed that 32,000 women who went missing in Kerala had converted to Islam and joined the terrorist group Islamic State.
On Friday, the Kerala High Court declined to block the release of the contentious film, stating that the trailer does not include anything that is offensive to any specific community as a whole. The court’s bench, composed of Justices N Nagaresh and Sophy Thomas, also acknowledged the producers’ statement that they do not plan to retain the “offending teaser” that falsely claimed that 32,000 women from Kerala were converted and joined a terrorist group.
The court stated that it is not inclined to issue an interim order to prevent the screening of the film, taking into account the disclaimer provided by the producers. The court also noted the producer’s statement that they have no intention of keeping the controversial teaser that contained false claims regarding the conversion of women in Kerala to a terrorist organisation. Therefore, the court has concluded that no further action is required in this case at the moment.