Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced that the controversial movie by director Sudipto Sen, The Kerala Story would be exempted from taxes in his state. The announcement came via a video message by the CM on Saturday, May 6 in which he also praises the film. Chouhan also says in the video, “The film gives an insight into the strategy of love jihad, conversion and terrorism and exposes their dirty face.”
The Madhya Pradesh CM further said in the video that, “The movie has revealed what happens to the daughters who fall into the trap of love jihad under the influence of momentary emotions,” further claiming that The Kerala Story also reveals, “How the lives of the daughters who fall into the trap of love jihad are wasted under the influence of momentary emotions.” Madhya Pradesh had earlier exempted another controversial film The Kashmir Files from taxes as well.
Chouhan also goes on to say that, “Madhya Pradesh already has a law against religious conversion. The film makes us aware of the law. Everyone should see this film. Our daughters and sons should watch this film and hence the Madhya Pradesh government has decided to make this a tax free film.”
The Madhya Pradesh CM’s announcement comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made statements in support of the film at an election rally in Ballari, Karnataka.
आतंकवाद की भयावह सच्चाई को उजागर करती फिल्म 'The Kerala Story' मध्यप्रदेश में टैक्स फ्री की जा रही है। pic.twitter.com/l5oizjqK7j
— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) May 6, 2023
The Kerala Story is directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah. The film has been courting controversy ever since the teaser was released in November 2022. The teaser, featuring one of the lead actors, Adah Sharma, claimed that ‘32,000’ girls from Kerala were recruited by ISIS.
The film has been widely criticised as Islamophobic. It has also been pointed out that the film’s claim that 32,000 young women from Kerala converted to Islam is incorrect. On May 5, Vipul Amrutlal Shah, told the Kerala High Court that they will remove the contested number of 32,000 from their social media accounts and the film’s teaser.
Critical response to the The Kerala Story after its countrywide release on Friday, May 5 has been mixed, with many leading publications calling out the Islamophobia in the film.
Also Read: