KOLKATA: The controversial film, The Kerala Story, has been banned in India’s West Bengal by the state’s chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, who has slammed the movie as a ‘distorted story.’
According to Indian media reports, the decision to ban the film was announced on Monday at the state secretariat, with Banerjee directing the state chief secretary to ensure the movie is removed from screens running it in the state.
The government of West Bengal has banned the film following accusations by critics that it stokes communal hatred and propagates anti-Muslim propaganda. However, the right-wing ruling coalition has defended the film, which claims that 32,000 Hindu and Christian women from the mixed-faith state of Kerala have converted to Islam, and that some were recruited by the militant Islamic State (IS) group.
The film has been endorsed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and seized on by Hindu hardliners who say its portrayal is accurate. But, critics have called the movie out for peddling lies aimed at fomenting communal polarisation and unrest. The closing credits still say it is “dedicated to the thousands of girls in Kerala and Mangalore who didn’t come back home after their conversions”.
Reports suggest Mamata Banerjee’s decision to ban the film has been criticized by BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar, who claimed that Banerjee wants to “close her eyes to the reality.” He also alleged that the film portrays how “Islamists trap Hindu girls into Love Jihad and later send to become ISIS terrorists.”
Mamata Banerjee said the decision to ban the movie has been taken to “maintain peace in Bengal” and avoid any incident of hate crime and violence. She also alleged that “the BJP was funding a film on Bengal on the lines of Kashmir Files.”
