Released on May 5, 2023, the Bollywood film The Kerala Story 2023 has been generating controversy and debate among audiences and film industry professionals alike. Some have criticized the movie as being anti-Islamic, while others argue that it is an anti-terrorism film. The film, which is set in the Indian state of Kerala and Afghanistan, explores themes of religious extremism and its impact on society. After watching the film, I felt like I need to explore the question “Should The Kerala Story 2023 be viewed as promoting a divisive and discriminatory narrative?”
The Kerala Story is based on the true events related to the ISIS recruitment of three Kerala girls, Shalini, Nimah and Geetanjali who were lured into falling in love with Muslim men in the process. The film focuses on how terrorists targeted Hindu and Christian young girls of Kerala to take them as Jihadi brides and sex slaves. The story is recounted by a miraculously survived sex slave and former wife to an ISIS fighter, after being rescued by the peacekeeping mission from the Iran-Afghan border.
The Kerala Story evolved around three nursing students from Kerala: Shalini, a devout Hindu, Geetanjali, whose father was an atheist, Nimah, a Christian, and their Muslim friend, Asifa. Shalini tells the security personnel how they were targeted by jihadists and lured into falling in love with three Muslim men, Abdul, Mujib and Ramij. In another way, The Kerala Story is an investigation into the fate of 32,000 girls who disappeared from Kerala.
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