The Kerala Story: State-Sponsored Saga Of Savagery

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 3 May 2023 “Khoon Se Lathpath Ek Nazm Likhi Thi Maine / Saalon Baad Bhi Un Dhabbon Ko Mita Raha Hoon Main..." Payaam Lahori (I penned a blood-soaked Nazm / I've been trying to wipe out the patches of blood even after ages) The great Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini was once asked, what was his main objective while making a movie. Famous for making complex and a tad recondite movies (he made that difficult film ' Eight and a half '), Fellini answered, “My objective has always been to make people think; think in a completely non-violent manner. A movie that instigates you to kill or take revenge is a political propaganda. I leave that task to politicians. But does a politician have brains to make a movie for thinking people? Had he been able to do that, he'd have been an auteur in the first place, not a politician...." (Courtesy, Playboy, March 1976). 5 hours since a Malayali man offered to pay 10 lakhs to anyone who can name 10 women who were forcefully converted to Islam and enlisted in ISIS by Muslim men in Kerala. The words of Fellini assume far greater significance when Sudipto Sen's fabricated 'The Kerala Story' is all set to hit the marquee across the country on May 5. Just like ' The false narrative of Vivek Agnihotri’s ‘The Kashmir Files', Sen's 'The Kerala Story' is also based on fibs and figments of imagination and is light years away from facts. Let me be very outspoken. All these people like Vivek Agnihotri and Sudipto are filmmakers with a political agenda and aspiration. They make propaganda movies to create bad-blood and widen the chasm. Sen, Agnihotri and their ilk ingratiate with the political dispensation by making such volcanic movies. Sudipto Sen is a known liar and manipulator of facts and he distorted facts in the past as well. Both the unscrupulous directors have full political support to make such partisan movies with impunity. Sudipto's claim that 32,000 girls were forcibly converted to Islam and sent to fight for ISIS is absolutely baseless. Where did he get this information from? “Indo-English poet Gieve Patel once wrote, ' Air reeks of blood and hatred/ Cash in on it to feast on the dead.' So very poignant! The general atmosphere is redolent of blatant polarisation. Movies like 'The Kashmir Files' and 'The Kerala Story' add fuel to fire. The gulf is widening by the day. When 'The Kashmir Files ' was released, I wrote an article for an eveninger, urging the government to withdraw the movie from the theatres. I also wrote that the movie would vitiate the situation and envenom the minds. Alas, no one paid heed. 'The Kerala Story' will further embitter and worsen the scenario. The general tenor that Muslims are roots of all evils has become a given. Such narratives strengthen this false perception. Very recently, even reputable publications reported a false news that the parents in Pakistan padlock the graves of their daughters to prevent rapists from exhuming the bodies and desecrating them. Fact check revealed that the picture was from a grave in Hyderabad, Deccan (India). This shows our collective proclivity to pounce on Muslims at the drop of a hat. We're living in terribly polarised times with the fanatics of all faiths. I couldn't sit through 'The Kashmir Files' for its gore and violence. I've no desire to watch this state-sponsored sanguinary saga of savagery depicted in Sen's senseless 'story.' ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/kerala-story-state-sponsored-saga-savagery/d/129690 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism