Beef, love jihad & more — What Malayalis think of The Kerala Story 2 | India News
Its trailer Kerala Story 2 Opens with a bold claim- “Inshallah, within the next 25 years, India will be an Islamic state under Sharia law”. It then reassures viewers that the film is “based on many true events”.It’s an attention grabbing start. But it reopened a familiar debate.
The story of Kerala The filmmakers are back with a bold sequel, promising to “go beyond”. But before they could, it was already stuck in legal quicksand.The Kerala High Court has flagged the “false portrayal” of the state and said it has the potential to “inflame emotions”.“Kerala lives in complete harmony. But you have depicted that this is happening all over Kerala,” the Kerala High Court remarked while hearing a plea. Story of Kerala 2.
Against this backdrop, the question arises: Is there anything wrong with the Kerala story?“Everything,” said Anitha, a journalist from Kerala, before launching into a passionate explanation.“Not all girls wear jasmine flowers,” she added, recalling her viewing experience Story of Kerala 1.Since the movie is yet to release, the makers can be given the benefit of the doubt. However, the trailer and teaser have already made several Malayalis question the veracity of some of the scenes and the elaborate narration.From claims of force-feeding beef to debates over “love jihad”, questions about information and presentation – the debate surrounding the film continues to expand beyond the cinema and into politics, law and public opinion.A closer look at the concerns, counterarguments and surrounding debates Story of Kerala 2.
Beef – and the case of the loss of paratha
One of the first things that was flagged the most, was the scene of force-feeding beef. The paratha was missing, several Malayalis joked on social media.In the trailer, a woman is seen being held back by a few men until one man forcefully pours beef into her mouth as she screams – ‘Mar Jaongi Par Kavi Beef Na Khaongi’
The movie’s director, Kamakhya Singh, said he wanted to highlight the “conversion” that was taking place by force-feeding people beef.“Yes, once you taste beef, you don’t want to go back to a life where beef is forbidden. It’s delicious especially, with hot fluffy porota,” comments Saneed Khader, a 26-year-old Keralite who runs an event management company while pursuing a masters in journalism.Another Malayali who has spent most of his life in Kerala, but now works for an advertising agency in Bangalore says: “I have spent my entire life in Kerala, at least 25 years, I have met thousands of people.”But I have never met a Malayali who ate beef. It was always ‘let’s have beef parotta’,” she said.“Almost everyone in Kerala eats beef, be it Christian, Muslim or Hindu,” said Suraj Sudhir, a 24-year-old Kerala native who works as a sub editor for a Malayalam news outlet in Kottayam, a Christian-majority city in the central state.
Has beef always been a part of Malayali cuisine?
“Historically, the number of strict vegetarians in Kerala was very limited. With the spread of modern culture, beef has been widely accepted across the state. While in earlier times it was mainly prepared by non-Hindus, today it has become a common part of the Kerala kitchen,” says Sivadasan Mankada, professor of history at University of Calicut.Hindus make up 54.73% of Kerala’s population, almost twice as many as Muslims. Beef consumption in the state is almost triple Tamil Nadu And the Christian majority is more than seven times that of Meghalaya Official information.Historical accounts give various accounts of how this particular dish became a central part of Kerala cuisine.“Meat also played a central role in the rituals of the common people, including Hindus,” Standard said“Kerala’s food culture has been predominantly non-vegetarian since ancient times. Fish and meat have always been an integral part of the cuisine, and eating meat has never been a matter of social conflict. Nair communities have traditionally consumed a variety of meats. Hunting and capturing animals for food is an important part of Kerala’s history,” he added.Another point of contention in the trailer is the ‘Love Jihad’ and conversion issue.
Is Kerala ‘sick’?
“When you are sick, you must first accept that you are sick,” said Vipul Amritlal Shah when asked if the movie was intended to spread hatred against Kerala.“Malayalis are fine here. We are fine here. The way they portray it (love jihad) is very wrong. We are above it,” said Arunathi.
So why is it called ‘Kerala’ story?
The makers of the movie held a press conference where they brought in “converted” victims, none of whom were from Kerala.When asked by reporters, he said it was a “pan-India movie”. Quickly clarifying after this, director Kamakhya Singh said: “It is also related to Kerala and from Kerala, how it is all over India.”
The question arises, why is the name ‘Kerala’ story? Is it more to create a specific image of the state among North Indians than to polarize Kerala?Film critic, journalist and educationist from Kerala A Chandrasekhar agrees.Chandrasekhar also mentioned that the National Awardee The story of KeralaWhich initially claimed 32,000 alleged forced conversions in the state before later describing itself as a fictional film, was therefore misleading. “We have only 3 cases recorded in India of conversion of girls taken from Kerala to Syria and later recruited by IS,” he said.“Any kind of narrative like force feeding of beef etc does not happen in Kerala and such a narrative cannot be tolerated even in fiction as they are factually incorrect or fake. So the movie falls under disinformation or malinformation,” he added.Controversy surrounding The Kerala Story began with its central storyline, which depicts three women from Kerala as victims of so-called ‘love jihad’ and recruitment into extremist groups. The controversy was over the film’s teaser which claimed that 32,000 women from Kerala had been radicalized and sent to Syria and Yemen. When questioned about the unsubstantiated and exaggerated, arguing that it misrepresented the state and could promote communal tensions. After backlash, the filmmakers clarified that the number was based on media reports, and later removed the specific image from promotional material.Questions about the accuracy of the film’s claims were further highlighted by official information. Data obtained through an RTI from the home ministry showed that between 2014 and 2020, the National Investigation Agency arrested 177 people across India in ISIS-related cases, including 19 from Kerala — a figure that critics say contrasts sharply with the number, a film report said.The movie won the National Award.“The only Malayalam filmmaker who was on the National Film Awards committee last year tried his best to convince the jury headed by Ashutosh Gowarikkar that the plot of Kerala Story 1 is totally baseless and based on a stray incident. He argued that if that film (which is a big zero cinematically) and its editing would be the best zero and it would be selected to direct. Humiliating and hurt the sentiments of the state, but even the chairman agreed. Disgusted,” said Chandrasekhar.
The ‘Love Jihad’ Debate
The movie’s teaser opens with three women, initially Hindu as their names suggest, eventually wearing hijabs with scars on their faces, recounting their terrifying experiences of falling in love with Muslim boys.The message is clear – love jihad is one thing.“There was a phase in our lives, about ten years ago, when we had this conversation for a month,” he said of Love Jihad. He noted that conversations started from TV and social media where they said “love jihad was happening. We never had that conversation after that.” “No body is concerned about these things anymore,” said Arunathi.He also recalled a specific incident that was used as an example by his parents to warn him. “One of our neighbors fell in love with a Muslim boy. She eloped with him. When they reached the man’s house, he suddenly wanted her to change her religion by threatening divorce. Her name was changed from Archana to Ashana,” he said, trying hard to recall the woman’s first name, adding how the woman later forced her two sons-in-law to go to school.A professor of history at Calicut University termed the ‘love jihad’ as “an artificially constructed narrative designed to denigrate and undermine Kerala’s mixed culture”.“The concept of ‘love jihad’ is an artificially constructed narrative designed to malign and undermine Kerala’s mixed culture. In fact, the number of young people choosing partners across religious boundaries is on the rise across India. Kerala has often taken the lead in supporting such interfaith marriages. Couples are free to live anywhere in the state, and progressive-minded communities continue to support them,” he said.Saneed Khader questioned the validity of this tenure. “Has any legitimate authority made a valid statement on Love Jihad in Kerala based on statistics and facts? I don’t think so.. As far as I know, Love Jihad is a term coined by right-wing Hindutva to terrorize the Muslim community.. There have been some cases of forced conversion in Kerala in the case of love marriages. But the thing is, similar things are happening all over India and it is not only Muslims who are behind this forced conversion.“Another term heavily associated with cinema is propaganda.Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap also dismissed it as a promotional film.
What is this campaign?
“It’s not like propaganda movies like The Accidental Prime Minister or even Emergency, which were based on books written by people who knew the characters intimately,” said film critic Chandrasekhar, adding, “It has no concrete evidence or documents to support the claims made by the movies.”Propaganda is information, ideas, or messages designed to influence people’s opinions or beliefs, often presenting only one side of an issue.It may use emotive language, selective facts or exaggeration to shape public perception. Propaganda is commonly used in politics, advertising, and the media, and it can sometimes leave balanced or opposing views.He went on to highlight that many movies from Malayalam like Pujhu, Bharatha Circus, etc. released in the recent past “brought fake and false narratives from within the state that put Hindutva movements on the defensive and blamed Hindus for Dalit oppression.” “We should recognize that what applies to Kerala’s story also applies to them,” he said.Talking about clever propaganda, he said that movies like “Akshay Kumar’s Gold, and Yami Gautham’s HAQ” “can be read politically as clever propaganda films against Pakistan/Islam”.
