Kerala ministers slam National Award for 'The Kerala Story' call it Sangh agenda

    Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 2 (PTI) Kerala Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cherian on Saturday strongly criticised the decision to confer national film honours on 'The Kerala Story', alleging that the recognition was part of the "Sangh Parivar's political agenda."
    The National Film Awards for 2023 were announced in Delhi on Friday by jury chairperson and filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker.
    Director Sudipto Sen received the Best Director award for 'The Kerala Story', which also bagged the award for Best Cinematography.
    The film has been mired in controversy over its portrayal of women from Kerala being "forcefully converted and recruited by the Islamic State (IS) terror group."
    Speaking to a television channel, Cherian alleged that the film "promotes division, spreads hatred in society, and insults the people of Kerala."
    He added that the film was given the award without fulfilling the necessary criteria.
    "It's a proud achievement that our actors, Urvashi and Vijayaraghavan, received awards. But how could The Kerala Story be recognised alongside them? On what basis was that decision made?" he asked.
    The minister claimed that the film was chosen "not for its artistic merit but to serve the interests of a section of people."
    "Such politics by the Sangh Parivar is creating fear in the country. The ruling party is using every opportunity—including small ones—to deepen hatred. This award is a part of that," he alleged.
    Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal also criticised the jury’s decision, calling 'The Kerala Story' a "false campaign" against the state.
    "The film falsely claimed that Kerala is a hub of 'love jihad' and that people from the state were taken to Syria to convert their religion. No one in Kerala believes that. But people in other states and abroad may not know the facts," he added.
    Balagopal further alleged that the BJP and Sangh Parivar are attempting to "malign Kerala because of their inability to gain a foothold in the state", where the CPI(M)-led LDF and the Congress-headed UDF remain dominant.
    "In this context, 'The Kerala Story' is a deliberate attempt to portray Kerala in a bad light. Giving it a national award is an insult to the people of the state. It should be seen in the same light as the recent arrest of two Keralite nuns in Chhattisgarh," he claimed.
    The minister termed the award to the film "highly condemnable" and said, "those in power must be reminded that an art form like cinema should not be misused."
    Balagopal's remarks come a day after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan slammed the award and accused the jury of "betraying the legacy of Indian cinema."
    Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan also criticised the decision, alleging that the BJP government is using the National Film Awards "to further its hate agenda."

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)