Eye Opener Film ‘The Kerala Story’ review

The Film “The Kerala Story” came out on the incidents of girls disappearing and going towards terrorism. Since the release of the teaser of this movie, many people have criticized the movie and this movie has been in controversy. But the movie has nothing to do with any religion. It is against forced conversion. When films like Ashram can be made then why can’t this one?

Very few are creating controversy even before the release of the film because they feel the film is breaking the secular chord of the nation. But Kerala High Court has stated that it has nothing to do with Islam. It is showcasing terrorist organizations like ISIS in a negative shade and has nothing to do with Islam. The trailer of this movie created a lot of buzz across the country. Politicians including the CM of Kerala were furious over the film in a big way. Immediately after the release of the teaser and trailer, a public interest litigation was also filed in the Kerala High Court demanding that the film be stopped and not released. They tried to stop the release of the film in the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. But could not. The Kerala Story was released this week amidst agitations and protests. How about a movie that claims to be based on some real events that happened in Kerala? Let’s see what is actually in this movie.

The Plot of The Kerala Story

The film begins with the scene of Adah sharma being injured in the UN detention center. During interrogation, she recalls how she trained and became an ISIS terrorist. The story unfolds in flashback as Shalini, who becomes Fatima Ba, narrates her bitter experiences in Afghanistan to her two friends, Nima and Geetanjali. Shalini Unnikrishnan (Adah Sharma), a Hindu, joins a nursing college in Kasargod, Kerala. Nima (Yogita Bhihani) and Geetanjali (Siddi Idnani) are introduced there. she shares a room in the hostel with Aseefa (Sonia Balani). And Aseefa is working as an undercover in ISIS. She targets girls. They are brainwashed by magic words and converted to Islam.

As a part of it, two Muslim boys are brought into the field and a program starts with Gitanjali and Shalini in the trap of love jihad. In this sequence, Shalini falls in love with a boy named Rameez and becomes pregnant. When Ramiz is asked to get married, he says that he will marry if she converts to Islam. There is no other way but she marries Ramiz and converts to Islam and tries to go to Syria and gets arrested in Afghanistan. What happened next is there in the movie The Kerala Story.

This movie is mainly .. the implementing strategies to convert other religious girls to Islam in the name of love jihad The story of the film revolves around incidents like love jihad, rape, sexual slavery, radicalization, and ISIS recruitment in Kerala. How Shalini falls into the trap of Aseefa, the main character of the story. What mental conflict did Shalini go through when she got pregnant out of wedlock? What is Shali’s mental conflict when her boyfriend conditions her to convert to Islam? The story revolves around things like Also, the problems faced by Shalini Alias Fatima Ba after her arrest in Afghanistan were shown very painfully. The main objective of the film is to show the miserable situations faced by three women due to love jihad, rape, sexual slavery, and indoctrination.

Alert Spoiler – People suffering from any heart disease, or any action phobia should not watch the film.

Performances and Technical Aspects of the Film “The Kerala Story”

The screenplay of such films was OK but at some part, it went slow. The director was very careful in that regard. The best Screenplay part is between flashbacks and present scenes. The film shows the process of teaching Hindu religious worship, atheism, communism, Islam, and Sharia law. It must be said that the director has made a lot of balances. But some scenes are repeated too much. The trap scenes could have been more clear though long. In one scene – Especially when Shalini is revealed to be pregnant. His boyfriend says he will marry if he converts. She prepares to convert. While preparing for the wedding, the boyfriend runs away. Then a religious leader… if you marry another Muslim youth and go to Syria, he says, ‘Our God will forgive all your mistakes’. It’s a little hard to see things like this because it seemed very much nostalgic.

Director Sudipto Sen has made the movie realistic, well-connected, and impactful. Editing by Sanjay Sharma is the second-best part of the film. The background music, camera work, and color balance are also perfectly synced. Production values are good.

Talking about performances, Shalini cum Fatima, played by Adah Sharma in the role of a girl who has two variations is fantastic. Really during many scenes, the character makes the viewer emotional.

Yogita, Sonia, and Siddhi also gave a good performance.

Even though it is an ideological film, the way it is shot and the way of telling the story seem to be touching. But if you connect to that ideology, you will like the movie.

‘The Kerala Story’ Review Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4 Stars)