The Kerala Story enters political theatre: As more dioceses line up release in state, BJP cheers

A YEAR after its release, The Kerala Story is roiling the state’s heated political battlefield, with other Catholic dioceses announcing plans to follow in the footsteps of the Idukki diocese and screen the controversial film, as part of efforts to “enlighten teenagers against love jihad”.

The decision of the dioceses follows vehement criticism by the ruling CPI(M) and Opposition Congress of State-run Doordarshan for its screening of the film, days ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in Kerala. They had also approached the Election Commission seeking a directive to ban its telecast.

The movie depicts the story of four women from Kerala converting to Islam and joining the IS, with the filmmakers claiming that thousands of women from the state had fallen to this. The film had faced several court cases ahead of its release in May 2023.

On Tuesday, as the dioceses’ move became known, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan slammed the film as “against the cultural ethos of the state”. Without mentioning the Church, he said: “The film is being screened with a particular agenda. Canards are being spread to insult the state. No one should fall in the trap of the RSS, which sees Communists and minorities as its enemies. They want to eliminate Christians. We have seen it in Manipur.”

Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan said the movie had nothing to do with reality. “Kerala has no such issue. It is a deliberate attempt to denigrate the state.”

While the Idukki diocese aired the movie on April 4 for students of class 10 and 12 as a part of its annual summer catechism programme, it will be screened later this week in gatherings and family meetings by the Kerala Catholic Youth Movement (KCYM), a youth organisation of the Syro-Malabar Church in the