 "The Kerala Story: All you need to know about the raging controversy")
The controversy around the movie "The Kerala Story" has been making it to the headlines almost daily. On Monday, the Uttar Pradesh government announced they would make the film tax-free in the state. Earlier in the day, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that he and his cabinet colleagues and family would watch the film, adding that he was not promoting the controversial movie.
Madhya Pradesh has also announced that the movie will be made tax-free in the state.
On the other hand, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee banned the movie as it is "likely to cause breach of peace". There have also been protests against the movie's release in several other states, including Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
What is the controversy around "The Kerala Story"?
Directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, the movie centres around forced religious conversion. The film stars Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Sonia Balani and Siddhi Idnani and was released on May 5.
The movie's trailer earlier claimed that approximately 32,000 women in Kerala were converted to Islam, and many were taken to ISIS-ruled Syria when the terror group was at the peak of its power.
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"If we look at the issue, the number of 32,000 is what we have stated and we are staying by it," Shah had told PTI.
However, the line "heartbreaking and gut-wrenching stories of 32,000 females in Kerala..." was changed to "true stories of three young girls from Kerala."
Several leaders, including Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, said the movie was a "gross exaggeration". Vijayan termed the film as "propaganda". Tharoor even tweeted an offer of Rs 1 crore to anyone who could prove that 32,000 women were forced to convert to Islam.
BJP leaders, on the other hand, have supported the movie. BJP national president JP Nadda said that there is a new type of terrorism without ammunition, adding that the film exposes "poisonous terrorism".
Anurag Thakur said those opposing "The Kerala Story" are supporters of the proscribed PFI and terror outfit ISIS.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also mentioned the movie in his recent speech in Karnataka and said that the movie is "trying to expose the consequences of terrorism in a society, especially in a state like Kerala which is a beautiful land of hardworking, talented and intellectual people."
Actress Adah Sharma took to Twitter and wrote, "And for the few still calling #TheKeralaStory a propaganda film, saying these incidents do not exist even after watching testimonials of several Indian victims, my humble request, Google two words ISIS and Brides...maybe an account of white girls narrated to you might make you feel that our Indian movie is real."
What is the judiciary's stance on the movie?
Last week, Kerala High Court refused to stay the film's release and said the trailer does not contain anything offensive to any particular community as a whole. The judgement came after the trailer was toned down.
A bench of Justices N Nagaresh and Sophy Thomas noted the submission made by the producers that they do not intend to retain an "offending teaser" which contained a statement that "32,000 women" from Kerala were converted and joined a terrorist organisation.
Justice Nagaresh, who dictated the order, said that going through the trailers of the movie, "We find that the trailer does not contain anything offensive to any particular community as a whole."
Earlier, the Supreme Court refused to entertain a petition challenging the film board's certification granted to the movie, saying courts must be very careful while staying exhibition of films.
The top court observed producers have invested money in the film and actors have dedicated their labour, and it is for the market to decide if the movie is not up to the mark.
The Kerala Story box office collections
According to reports, since its release, the movie has collected Rs 37.03 crore in India. On the opening day, May 5, the film earned Rs 8.03 crore in India. On Day 2, the collections touched Rs 12.5 crore. On Sunday, the gross collections stood at Rs 16.5 crore.
The movie was made with a budget of Rs 40 crore, and it will likely cross that mark soon.