The Kerala Story has the churches in Kerala divided over the movie screening. After the Idukki, Thamarassey and Thalassery dioceses screened the movie, the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese screened a counter documentary on the Manipur violence titled, “Cry of the Oppressed” for students during their catechism classes.
A catholic parish under the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese screened the documentary at St Joseph’s Church, Sanjopuram in Ernakulam district. “Manipur violence is a fact, not a fable. Screening the film was a reminder that we should not forget Manipur. Kerala society is vigilant about propaganda movies,” said parish vicar James Panavelil taking a jibe at the Kerala Story and the issue of Love Jihad.
Calling the Kerala Story a propaganda, he said, “When propaganda stories are being propagated again and again, we should counter it by speaking the truth.”
Adah Sharma-starrer ‘The Kerala Story’ is one of the most successful movies of 2023. The film saw popularity and ran well but there were attempts to corner the film and ban it for the subject matter.
The film brought a spotlight on subjects like forced/lured religious conversions, ISIS brides, and love jihad. The film was even banned in West Bengal initially and the makers had to plead before the Honourable courts to get its ban lifted, which was eventually lifted.
Last week, the Idukki diocese under the Syro Malabar Catholic Church in Kerala screened the movie The Kerala Story for students to educate them about the dangers of love affairs. This comes after the Kerala government made a hue and cry over the decision by Doordarshan to stream the movie.
Following this, the Thamarassery diocese of the Syro Malabar Catholic Church also decided to screen the movie. The Thalassery diocese had also planned to screen the movie but reversed the decision. It was then shown by its youth unit, the Kerala Catholic Youth Movement (KCYM) in Chempanthotty village in Kannur.
The Themarassery diocese said that there was nothing wrong with screening a movie that was not banned in the state. According to reports, the KCYM questioned why the political parties were scared of the movie.
As per reports, pro-BJP Christian group Christian Association and Alliance for Social Action also said it would screen the film across Kerala.