Analysing The Kerala Story’s narrative and how Malayalam hit 2018 emerged as its counterargument

Based on this definition, we can preliminarily state that while The Kerala Story aimed to “educate” viewers about a network in India that converts women to Islam and recruits them to the terror group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), 2018 – Everyone Is A Hero focused on showcasing the unity of the people of Kerala during the floods and highlighting the positive effects of togetherness.

Now, we must enquire whether both films stayed true to their stated paths or deviated in an attempt to propagate narratives that could potentially divide people by pointing fingers and antagonising specific groups or areas. If such deviations occurred, were they intentional? Consequently, which form of propaganda did the films promote: positive or negative? To what extent did cinema as a popular medium aid in achieving their objectives? These questions warrant a thorough investigation.

The Kerala Story’s arguments: An analysis

The controversy surrounding The Kerala Story erupted soon after the release of its trailer on April 26, 2023. The 165-second promo video began with a disclaimer stating, “The film is inspired by many true stories.” It then introduced the central character, “Shalini Unnikrishnan, a Hindu from Kerala,” who was shown as a member of ISIS. The trailer provided a glimpse into the film’s progression, portraying the plight of numerous “innocent girls” like Shalini who become “trapped, transformed, and trafficked for terror.”

Now, let’s address the obvious concern. The radicalisation of innocent individuals for terrorist recruitment is undoubtedly a global threat that necessitates continuous attention. It goes without saying that ISIS and its activities deserve condemnation. However, the question arises: Was raising awareness against this the primary intention of The Kerala Story’s makers? This is where the debate commences. Initially, the movie’s trailer on YouTube described it as being “based on the stories of more than 32,000 Kerala women who allegedly fell victim to radicalisation by Islamic fundamentalists.” Subsequently, this description was revised to clarify that it was a “compilation of the true stories of three young girls from different parts of Kerala.”

In a News18 interview conducted before the alteration of the trailer description, director-turned-producer Vipul Shah, who bankrolled and co-wrote The Kerala Story said the story they aimed to tell was more important than the actual numbers involved. “Whether it was 32 or 32,000 women who experienced religious conversions, the occurrence itself was significant, and it warranted public attention,” he said.

This raises the question: Why shouldn’t people question the film when its title suggests it portrays ‘the’ definite story of a real-world state rather than a fictional one, especially considering the trailer’s claim of being based on true stories? If a movie attempts to hold a particular state and its system accountable for failing to protect women from terrorist groups, why can’t the film and its creators be held responsible for spreading falsehoods by inflating the numbers by a factor of 10,000? If their intentions were truly pure and honest, why resort to exaggerated figures when addressing such a sensitive issue? Why not rely on official figures to support their case?

During a subsequent media conference, Vipul Shah expressed his perplexity regarding the concern over religion in The Kerala Story. He drew comparisons to movies like Sholay and Singham 2 and asked: “In Sholay, Gabbar Singh is the villain, but Ramesh Sippy saab isn’t against the Singh community. In Singham 2, a priest is a villain, so was an attempt made to vilify the entire Hindu community? Not at all. If we didn’t raise such questions during Sholay or Singham 2, why are you targeting Hindus, then why this now?”

The controversy surrounding The Kerala Story erupted soon after the release of its trailer on April 26. (Image: Adah Sharma S/Facebook)

Let’s examine this further. While movies like Sholay and Singham 2 were purely fictional movies whose villains were not portrayed as recruiting people for real terrorist organisations, The Kerala Story presents a different narrative that clearly targets a specific community. To illustrate this point using examples from The Kerala Story itself, there is a scene in the film’s first act where Shalini Unnikrishnan (Adah Sharma) meets her hostel roommates. Upon seeing a hijab-clad woman in the room, Shalini immediately assumes she is from either Malappuram or Kozhikode and asks her directly. The woman confirms she is from Malappuram, and as expected, she is the one who introduces these “gullible” non-Muslim women to her group of individuals involved with terror outfits.

When considered alongside a 2020 incident involving BJP leader Maneka Gandhi, who inaccurately claimed that the death of a wild elephant in Kerala occurred in the Muslim-majority district of Malappuram when it actually took place in Palakkad, a clearer picture emerges of how individuals with vested interests have consistently attacked Kerala with fabricated or exaggerated stories. If political leaders can be criticised for spreading falsehoods that disrupt communal harmony, artistes should also face scrutiny for their seemingly “innocent” attempts to promote such narratives.

Another problematic instance in the movie arises when the filmmakers try to convey that only Kerala is targeted by ISIS. In a dialogue, Shalini tells the UN force, “The entire state of Kerala has been kept atop a time bomb. Please save God’s Own Country, otherwise, it will be over.” This portrayal can be seen as an attempt to blindly suggest that Kerala alone is a breeding ground for ISIS activities.

On September 16, 2020, G Kishan Reddy, who was the then Minister of State for Home Affairs, informed Rajya Sabha that the NIA has registered 17 cases related to the presence of IS in southern States of Telangana, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and arrested 122 accused persons. “Investigations by the NIA revealed that the IS is most active in Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir,” Reddy stated in a written reply to a question in the Upper House.

If ISIS is known to be active in 12 out of the 28 states in the country, with seven of them located in the northern region, then portraying only one state as being “on a time bomb” can be seen as presenting a partial truth.

To address Vipul Shah’s question regarding the concern over religion from another perspective, the absence of any Muslim character in The Kerala Story who is not associated with ISIS, while characters from other religions, particularly Hindus, are portrayed as innocent and gullible, appears to be an intentional effort to promote Islamophobia. This portrayal falsely insinuates that such extremist activities are representative of Muslims and the teachings of Islam.

Crafted as a tribute to the numerous individuals who united during the devastating floods and provided assistance to one another, 2018 cannot be deemed flawless. (Image: Jude Anthany Joseph/Facebook)

Additionally, the choreography of the scene where Asifa discusses hellfire, while others remain oblivious to such concepts, further indicates that the filmmakers are concealing the complete truth. It is worth noting that even within Hinduism, there are beliefs and teachings related to the afterlife. The Preta Khanda section in the Garuda Purana, one of the 18 puranas attributed to Ved Vyasa, provides detailed explanations of these beliefs. In an opinion piece published in Mid-Day in 2019, mythologist and writer Devdutt Pattanaik wrote: “in the Garuda Purana, we hear that while they are waiting for rebirth, the dead may be tortured by Yama on the basis of past lives, in multiple realms for various crimes. The tortures are creative and include impalement, dismemberment, burning and boiling.”

“Such a description of hell is found in Buddhism and Jainism also and probably reveals the influence of Zoroastrian and Christian ideas that came to India via the Northwest nearly 1,800 years ago,” he added. Therefore, the scene in question, which exclusively portrays Muslims as holding such beliefs, serves as a means to perpetuate divisive propaganda.

The most problematic aspect of the film, which forms its foundation and is revealed in the final act, is the scene where one of the characters imparts knowledge to the police regarding the number of women who have been ensnared and recruited by ISIS. The character named Nimha (Yogita Bihani) states, “Our ex-chief minister once said that Kerala will become an Islamic State in the next 20 years. As per a government report placed in the (Kerala) Assembly in June 2012, an average of 2,800 to 3,200 conversions are happening from Hindu and Christian families to Islam every year. More than 30,000 girls are missing. The unofficial figure is 50,000.”

Upon examining the initial point regarding a former Chief Minister’s statement about Kerala becoming an Islamic State, it becomes apparent that the leader referred to in this context is VS Achuthanandan. On July 24, 2010, VS strongly criticised the Popular Front of India (PFI) and stated that “the organisation was working with an agenda to convert Kerala into a Muslim-majority within the next 20 years by enticing youngsters with money and through conversions.” It is important to note that the ex-CM did not explicitly mention that Kerala was heading towards becoming an Islamic State but rather highlighted the PFI’s alleged agenda. Therefore, the intention behind the dialogue in the film, which spreads fear and panic among people, raises questions about its true meaning.

Now, let’s examine the second portion of the dialogue which refers to a report presented in the Kerala Assembly regarding the annual occurrence of 2,800 to 3,200 conversions from Hindu and Christian families to Islam. In an interview on the YouTube channel ‘Festival of Bharat’, Sen asserted that the then chief minister, Oommen Chandy, had placed this report before the Kerala Assembly. Sen nonchalantly remarked, “Just calculate this number for ten years and that gives you 32,000 to 33,000 girls.” However, an India Today report from 2012 reveals that Chandy did “inform” the legislature about conversions. He mentioned that “2,667 young women have converted to Islam in the state since 2006.” Interestingly, the report also highlights an important detail conveniently omitted by the makers of The Kerala Story. “Chandy, however, said that there was no evidence for forced conversions in the state and the fears about love jihad were baseless,” as mentioned in the India Today report.

Conversions certainly take place in India, but is it accurate to assume that all conversions involve force or are connected to terrorist activities? According to a 2021 report by The New Indian Express, official figures for the year 2020 show that the biggest gainer – in terms of new converts – was Hinduism. People who embraced Hinduism constituted 47 per cent of religious conversions in Kerala during the one-year period. “Of the total 506 people who registered their change of religion with the government, 241 were those who converted from Christianity or Islam to Hinduism. A total of 144 persons adopted Islam whereas Christianity received 119 new believers in the year,” TNIE reported after sourcing data from the government gazettes. These statistics, along with the attempts made by the creators of TKS to attribute all conversions to ISIS, present an image that contradicts their intended message.

During the same conversation, Nimha informs the police that over 30,000 girls are reported missing in Kerala, with an unofficial estimate of 50,000. Undoubtedly, the increasing number of missing persons is a grave concern and highlights the inadequacy of law enforcement in any state. However, the inclusion of these figures in The Kerala Story without highlighting how many of these missing individuals joined ISIS renders it misleading.

According to the latest edition of the “Crime in India” report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) for 2021, a staggering 3,42,480 individuals remain missing and untraced across various regions in India. As per this report, Kerala accounts for 1,544 (366 women) unrecovered or untraced missing persons (including previous years’ untraced missing persons). While 53,655 people (35,110 women) are missing and still untraced in West Bengal, the number is 48,557 (33,274 women) in Madhya Pradesh, 39,465 (20,630 women) in Maharashtra, 23,172 (19,175 women) in Odisha and 18,329 (11,653 women) in Chhattisgarh. If the genuine intention of the makers of TKS was to shed light on this distressing issue of thousands of missing and untraced women, then why single out Kerala in their narrative? If all of these individuals were targeted by ISIS and recruited for terror activities, as depicted in the film, it raises questions as to why Kerala alone should be held responsible when other states have even higher numbers.

After facing significant backlash over the film’s assertion that 32,000 women had gone missing, the makers finally acquiesced on May 18, two weeks after the film’s release. They agreed to include a disclaimer stating that “there is no authentic data to back up the suggestion that the figure of conversion is 32,000 or any other established figure” and that “the film represents a fictionalised account of the events which form the subject matter of the film”.

Now, the lingering question is the impact of this film on the reputation of Kerala, which it portrays as a breeding ground for terrorists, as well as its Muslim community, which it depicts as inherently malicious. Shouldn’t the creators own up to their mistakes and be willing to accept the repercussions for the damages caused? This question is one that the people and the state government may need to address.

2018 – Everyone Is A Hero’s counterarguments: An analysis

While The Kerala Story aimed to promote a particular storyline about Kerala, the people of the state responded not by attacking theatres or calling for a ban on the film, but by supporting another movie that exemplified the true essence of Kerala – unity and resilience.

Crafted as a tribute to the numerous individuals who united during the devastating floods and provided assistance to one another, 2018 – Everyone Is A Hero cannot be deemed flawless or entirely faithful to its intended message. Let’s explore the different elements of the film by addressing two significant concerns related to its narrative.

One significant concern in 2018’s story is the noticeable absence or underrepresentation of Muslim characters at the forefront of the rescue and rehabilitation efforts. While Hindu and Christian characters and organisations receive considerable focus, Muslim characters are rarely featured, except for Aparna Balamurali’s character Noora and her family, who serve no meaningful purpose in the overall narrative, apart from a passing reference towards the end.

Although the film portrays that a local Christian church and its priest played a pivotal role in mobilising fisherfolk for the rescue operations, in reality, as stated in a 2018 report by the Economic Times, it was the swift thinking and actions of two district collectors, S Karthikeyan of Kollam and PB Nooh of Pathanamthitta, that prompted the state authorities to approach fisherfolk for assistance.

Another point of criticism directed at the film was its failure to acknowledge the contributions of politicians, from the chief minister to grassroots-level politicians. The movie conveniently overlooks not only the ruling party and its members but also members of other political groups, presenting a partial truth.

However, the film presents a compelling image that cannot be ignored. While it is a fictionalised portrayal of real events, similar to The Kerala Story, rather than a documentary account of the catastrophic events leading up to mid-August 2018, it effectively highlights the numerous individuals who contributed to the rescue efforts. Despite its selective portrayal of the truth, the film vividly depicts the lives and struggles of thousands of people who lost their life savings in the floodwaters.

As previously stated, the underlying objective of 2018’s propaganda was to artfully communicate the tale of a densely populated state overcoming a catastrophic event through unwavering determination, while emphasising the remarkable potency of unity. Does this imply that Kerala is a heavenly realm, untouched by religious extremism and caste discrimination? Certainly not! Nevertheless, it is far from the simplified depiction presented by The Kerala Story, where individuals can be easily reduced to mere binaries of zeros and ones.

Even before showcasing the scenes depicting the devastation caused by the flood, the film illuminates the presence of societal issues such as discrimination, corruption, greed, envy, and pride without associating them with any specific groups. For instance, the film portrays conflicts between two characters, Joseph (SP Sreekumar) and Cleetus (Rony David), stemming from familial disputes and their present animosity towards each other. Additionally, it highlights the mockery faced by Bhasi (Indrans), a visually impaired man, by those around him who consider him a burden.

At the beginning of the film, it portrays the young Nixon (Asif Ali), an aspiring model, feeling ashamed of his fisherfolk background, while his father Mathachan (Lal) and brother Winston (Narain) make a living from the sea. Another example of moral decay is seen when taxi driver Koshy takes advantage of two Polish tourists by acting as their guide and overcharging them.

However, these instances do not target any specific communities but rather demonstrate the inherent self-centredness that can be found in people regardless of their background. Simultaneously, the film also highlights the presence of kind-hearted individuals who remain unaffected by such negative traits. The movie portrays various instances where characters treat Bhasi poorly, only helping him when necessary, but also shows heartwarming moments like Anoop’s genuine connection with Bhasi. Nixon learns to embrace his fisherfolk heritage, and Koshy undergoes a change of heart, providing the tourists with a positive experience. With these examples 2018 highlights that not everything in Kerala is evil.

As the film progresses and depicts scenes during the floods, it captures how people set aside their differences and selflessly helped one another. From simple acts like sharing an extra blanket to courageous acts like diving into floodwaters to rescue others, these visuals resonated with many Malayalis during those uncertain times. Furthermore, the film highlights the actions of two young individuals, Anoop and Alex, who courageously lend a helping hand to those in need, even in perilous situations. This powerful portrayal reflects the countless youth who exhibited similar bravery in August 2018, creating a relatable experience for many in the state. Another instance in the film is when Nixon bravely assists a stranded schoolgirl by helping her retrieve her certificates from her flooded home, despite the risks involved.

As the title suggests, the film highlights how everyone became a hero during that time. Whether their contributions were significant or modest, every individual stepped up without hesitation. This aspect, showcasing the selflessness and unity of the people, is another noteworthy portrayal of Kerala. However, it is unfortunate that those with vested interests conveniently overlook this aspect.

Technically speaking

In terms of technical aspects, The Kerala Story suffers from major flaws and can be considered one of the poorly executed films in recent times, while 2018 shines as a remarkable cinematic achievement, despite its below-average screenplay. Both films aim to evoke strong emotions through impactful dialogues and moments, but TKS’s amateurish execution hampers its overall quality, particularly in scenes set in Kerala. The first song in the film, Athira Ravil, embraces stereotypical depictions of Kerala often seen in Hindi films, including Kathakali, women with long hair adorned with flowers, backwaters, and the tradition of eating sadhya on banana leaves. These elements demonstrate a lack of in-depth research and understanding of Kerala by the Kerala Story makers. In contrast, 2018 manages to depict the people of Kerala with greater accuracy, presenting a more authentic portrayal of the state’s population.

To improve the authenticity of The Kerala Story, it would have been beneficial to involve a Malayali contributor in the scriptwriting process. This would have ensured a better representation of Kerala’s culture and nuances. Unfortunately, it seems that the makers of The Kerala Story prioritised other aspects over maintaining accuracy and failed to capture the essence of the region. The dialogue delivery and accents of the Malayali characters in TKS also contribute to the film’s detachment from the reality of Kerala. 2018 portrayed the resilience of Kerala during a monumental crisis with meticulous craftsmanship and a keen eye for detail, ensuring that the story endured. In contrast, The Kerala Story’s exaggerated and unsubstantiated claims, coupled with its cartoonish style of filmmaking, led to its downfall, leaving viewers sceptical about the film’s sincerity and intentions.