The Kerala Story draws political faceoff; Mamata bans movie, Yogi makes it tax-free

The Kerala Story has drawn an unprecedented line among the viewers with several people supporting the storyline and some protesting the narrative of the movie. Directed by Sudipto Sen, the film revolves around a 'converted' Muslim woman who narrates her ordeal of abduction from home and becoming an ISIS terrorist. 

After its release on May 5, the film faced a massive backlash from various youth outfits in Kerala. Activists of the Nationalist Youth Congress (NYC), the youth wing of the Nationalist Congress Party, and the Fraternity Movement staged a protest against the film in front of a local theatre in Kochi, PTI reported. 

'The Kerala Story' faces pushback 

The narrative and the storyline of the film have not gone well with the governments of West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. According to reports, the film has already been banned in West Bengal in a bid to 'avoid any incident of hatred and violence, and to maintain peace in the state.' 

"What is "The Kashmir Files"? It is to humiliate one section. What is "The Kerala Story"?... It is a distorted story,” said the TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee as she announced the decision to ban the movie in the state. With this move, West Bengal has become the first state to ban the movie, which has been appreciated by almost every BJP leader. 

BJP takes on protestors 

'The Kerala Story' has received massive support from the saffron camp with several BJP leaders organising a special screening of the movie. Amid massive backlash from the Opposition, BJP leaders including JP Nadda, Anurag Thakur, and Tejasvi Surya, among others have watched the movie. 

"The Kerala Story exposes 'new type of terrorism' that does not use ammunition," said Nadda said after watching the movie with young girls in Bengaluru. In the special screening of the movie, Nadda was accompanied by BJP MP Tejasvi Surya and Karnataka BJP chief Nalin Kumar Kateel. 

After watching the controversial movie, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said, "The Kerala Story exposes the sinister nexus of conversion. This film exposes the nefarious conspiracies of organizations like the global terrorist organization ISIS against India. Kerala Story warns us how to save our sisters, daughters, and children from the monster of terrorism and religious conversion." 

West Bengal BJP unit has also come down hard on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for banning the movie. BJP state chief Sukanta Majumdar, said, "Banning this (The Kerala Stroy) film shows the hypocrisy of CM Mamata Banerjee. They criticized us once over the documentary on PM stating that there is freedom of speech. Now where is the freedom of speech? Why the government of Bengal has banned the film? This film is based on a true story." 

'The Kerala Story' to be tax-free in UP

While some states are preparing to ban the movie, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to make the movie tax-free. Taking to Twitter, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, "The Kerala Story to be made tax-free in Uttar Pradesh."

It comes after the Madhya Pradesh government led by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan declared the film tax-free and appealed to the people to watch the movie. While announcing his decision, Chouhan said, "The film exposes the horrific face of love jihad, religious conversion, and terrorism.”