Actor-politician Kamal Haasan called Sudipto Sen's controversial movie, The Kerala Story a propaganda film. He was in Abu Dhabi when he addressed the media. During the interaction, he said that it was not enough for the makers to add a ‘true story’ at the bottom of the film name and make anyone believe it.
As quoted by the news agency ANI, Kamal Haasan said, “I told you, it's propagandist films that I am against. It's not enough if you write 'true story' just at the bottom as a logo. It has to really be true and that is not true.”
Written and directed by Sudipto Sen, The Kerala Story stars Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Siddhi Idnani and Sonia Balani in lead roles. The film released on May 5. It is produced by Vipul Shah and has crossed ₹200 crore at the box office.
The controversy around The Kerala Story started after the release of its trailer. It claimed that over 32000 women from Kerala were forced to convert to Islam and were recruited to ISIS. Later, the figure was omitted from the trailer and the trailer description mentioned it as the story of three women from Kerala.
The Kerala Story triggered a massive political row with many calling it a propaganda film. While celebrities like Kangana Ranaut, Ram Gopal Varma, Vivek Agnihotri and others came out in its defence, a few people on the internet expressed their displeasure with the film. A section of people also demanded a ban on the film.
Meanwhile, actor Sonia Balani recently opened up about the success of the film amid criticism. In a chat with Hindustan Times, she said, “It's a mixed feeling because the subject is so dark and it's a true story. Had it been a comedy or a rom-com, I would have been feeling complete happiness. I am happy that people have received it well, giving us so much support, appreciating our work. Somewhere in our hearts we know this has happened for real and that's why we aren't in much mood to celebrate it in a big way. ”
