"It's a sad part of our democracy..." Director Sudipto Sen reacts to 'The Kerala Story' controversies
May 17, 2023
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 17 : Filmmaker Sudipto Sen's directorial 'The Kerala Story' has been embroiled in controversy ever since the trailer of the film was released.
The trailer led to widespread outrage as it claimed that 32,000 girls went missing in Kerala after being recruited by the radical Islamist group.
After a legal intervention, the makers changed the description of the film's trailer from 'story of 32,000 women' to that of three women. This led to a massive debate and a section of people questioned the film's intention. In fact, the West Bengal government has banned the film.
Now, on Wednesday, Sudipto reacted to the controversies around the film, saying, "It's a sad part of our democracy."
"It is a very sad part of our democracy. Whatever is going on in the name of democracy is not right. When we speak about the terror network active in India, I appeal to every political party. Every political party should get their conscience, come together and fight against the evil in society," Sudipto told ANI.
'The Kerala Story', starring Adah Sharma and Yogita Bihani was released in cinemas on May 5.
On Wednesday, the makers organised a press conference in Mumbai where they answered several questions related to the film.
Producer Vipul Shah urged every citizen of the country to watch this movie with their families. The producer said, "It's not the story of these three Kerala girls. This thing is going on in the entire country. It's our responsibility to watch this movie and be a voice of these women."
Vipul said it was his 'duty' to make this film. "When Sudiptoda came to me with the script, I felt compelled towards the subject. We knew all the challenges coming our way. We knew it would be labelled as a 'propaganda' movie. But that did not deter us from making a movie, which is so humane and right."
Vipul added the fact that he and Sudipto (Sen) got emotional as the nation has to be woken up with such a film. "We all knew what we were getting into. These girls knew what troubles would come their way. But at least, the nation has started to talk about it. Forget 'The Kerala Story', it may come, it may go. But this topic should not go. This topic should remain at the centre of the nation's conversation. That's important."
