"I am against propaganda films": Kamal Haasan shares his views on 'The Kerala Story' at IIFA 2023

Abu Dhabi [UAE], May 27 : Veteran actor Kamal Haasan who is in Abu Dhabi for receiving the Outstanding Achievement in Indian Cinema award at IIFA 2023 on Saturday reacted to the ongoing controversy of 'The Kerala Story'.
During a media interaction, Kamal shared his thoughts on the film 'The Kerala Story', he said, "I told you, it's propaganda film 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."
He added, "It's not enough that you say based on a true story because that what everyone does. I think, you have to hit the true cord in audience that kind of cinema is not one kind of cinema. There is mono culture, is not the great thing specially in art. So all kind of cinema should come over. And I am a great fan of smaller movies. Like babies that grow up to be something really big. I also became a star by these kind of smaller films which made it big with audience. Awards are different thing. I am talking about audience accepting it much before the award jury grand them the honour."
'The Kerala Story' has been facing criticism by political parties due to its storyline.
'The Kerala Story' stars Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Siddhi Idnani and Sonia Balani in the lead roles. The controversy surrounding the film started when its trailer claimed that 32,000 women from Kerala had gone missing and joined the terrorist group ISIS. This statement triggered a heated political debate and many leaders questioned the veracity of the claim.
Earlier, the Supreme Court stayed the ban imposed by the West Bengal government on the film 'The Kerala Story' on May 18.
"Prohibition by West Bengal is not tenable. The order of the additional secretary of West Bengal shall remain stayed," Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said.
The apex court also directed the makers of The Kerala Story to give a proper disclaimer regarding the unsubstantiated figure '32,000' mentioned in the film.
Senior Adv Harish Salve, appearing for film producers, says that disclaimer -"There is no authentic data to back up the suggestion that the figure of conversions is 32,000 or any other established figure" and "the film represents the fictionalised version" of the issue- shall be added.
Coming back to IIFA, this year veteran actor Kamal Haasan will be felicitated with the Outstanding Achievement in Indian Cinema award at the gala.
Apart from him, actors and couple Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D'Souza will be awarded for 'Outstanding Achievement in Regional Cinema' and Designer Manish Malhotra will also be honoured for 'Outstanding Achievement in Fashion in Cinema'.
The mega celebrations started on Friday, with Sobha IIFA Rocks hosted by Farah Khan Kunder and Rajkummar Rao.
Last night, Singers like Amit Trivedi, along with several popular singers, Badshah, Sunidhi Chauhan, Nucleya and Sukhbir Singh rocked the IIFA stage with their performances.
The most highly awaited special addition this year to the Sobha IIFA Rocks is the premiere of an exclusive showcase by leading celebrity designer, Manish Malhotra, who is celebrating 25 years in the fashion industry.
The grand finale - Nexa IIFA Awards will take place today and will be hosted by Abhishek Bachchan and Vicky Kaushal.