The West Bengal government announced its choice to forbid "The Kerala Story" on Monday. The movie is experiencing vehement opposition in a number of states and has been dogged by controversy ever since its trailer was released.
Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of Bengal, made the announcement on Monday at the state secretariat. A few minutes prior to the announcement, Mamata Banerjee said that "the BJP was funding a Bengali film similar to Kashmir Files."
The state chief secretary has been instructed by the chief minister of Bengal to see that the movie is taken off the screens playing in the state. According to Mamata Banerjee, the choice was made to "maintain peace in Bengal" and prevent any incidents of violence and hate crimes.
Sukanta Majumdar, the state president of the BJP, criticized the TMC government's action and said Mamata Banerjee intended to "close her eyes to the reality" by doing so.
"CM Mamata Banerjee has banned the movie 'The Kerala Story," the BJP leader declared. Nothing was unexpected because it was expected of her. It depicts how Islamists lure Hindu ladies into Love Jihad and later send them to become ISIS militants. It is based on actual events. Didi wanted to block off reality.
"She wants to shield the people of WB from this awful reality, particularly the ladies. In WB, incidences of love jihad are frequent. Whenever necessary, WB has led the way for the nation. She makes the opposite choice. She has once again shown by banning that there is no FoE in WB. Shame," he continued.
Producer Vipul Shah responded to The Kerala Story being outlawed in West Bengal by saying, "If that is what she has done, we will take legal action. We shall fight to the fullest extent permitted by the law.
the movie with Adah Sharma The Kerala Story focuses on alleged religious indoctrination in Kerala and how extremist Islamic clerics target Hindu and Christian women. According to the movie, these women were dispatched to places like Afghanistan, Yemen, and Syria "to fight for the cause of Islam" after becoming Muslims.
A number of youth organizations held protests in Kerala against the movie's May 5 release in theatres there.
In Kerala, the CPI(M) government and the opposition Congress both contend that the movie makes inaccurate claims about 32,000 women who were radicalized, converted, and used in terror operations both in India and beyond the world.
Pinarayi Vijayan, the chief minister of Kerala, had criticized the filmmakers, claiming that by bringing up the topic of "love jihad," they were adopting the Sangh Parivar propaganda that sought to portray the state as a hotbed of religious extremism. The Kerala Story's trailer, according to Pinarayi Vijayan, appears to have been "deliberately produced" with the intention of inciting hatred and polarisation among different communities.
Earlier, theatres in Tamil Nadu suspended screenings of the contentious movie beginning on Sunday, claiming problems with law and order and a lackluster audience reaction.
In the meantime, during a rally in Karnataka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi blamed the film for exposing terror conspiracies and attacked the Congress.
While Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said the same might be done in UP if there is a suggestion, the Madhya Pradesh government has made the movie tax-free in the state.
