After The Kerala Story won two National Awards, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has strongly condemned and slammed the jury for honouring the film. Taking to X, the CM noted that the jury has "lent legitimacy to a narrative rooted in the divisive ideology of the Sangh Parivar"
Kerala CM slams The Kerala Story National Award win
The 71st National Awards were announced on Friday, August 1, 2025, and The Kerala Story was among the big winners for Bollywood at this year's awards. The film directed by Sudipto Sen went on to win two awards for Best Director and Best Cinematography. While the team behind the film celebrated, the victory has now taken a political turn and sparked a controversy with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan slamming the jury.
Kerala CM slams The Kerala Story win
The controversial film based on religious conversions in the state of Kerala was condemened by CM Vijayan and his party back when it was originally released in 2023. After the Awards were announced on Friday, the CM once again strongly opposed the film. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), he alleged that the move "lent credibility" to a narrative rooted in the "divisive" ideology of the Sangh Parivar.
By honouring a film that spreads blatant misinformation with the clear intent of tarnishing Kerala’s image and sowing seeds of communal hatred, the jury of the #NationalFilmAwards has lent legitimacy to a narrative rooted in the divisive ideology of the Sangh Parivar. Kerala, a…
— Pinarayi Vijayan (@pinarayivijayan) August 1, 2025
The CM's tweet read, “By honouring a film that spreads blatant misinformation with the clear intent of tarnishing Kerala's image and sowing seeds of communal hatred, the jury of the National Film Awards has lent legitimacy to a narrative rooted in the divisive ideology of the Sangh Parivar. Kerala, a land that has always stood as a beacon of harmony and resistance against communal forces, has been gravely insulted by this decision."
Pinarayi also noted that the awards jury, by awarding the film, has insulted the tradition of Indian cinema that stood for "religious brotherhood" and national integration.
He added, "Through this, they are implementing the Sangh Parivar agenda of turning cinema into a weapon to implement the communal agenda. We strongly protest against this action. Every Malayali and all democratic believers in the country should raise their voice against this injustice. We must rally against politics that turn art into a weapon to foster communalism."
The Kerala Story wins National Award
At the 71st National Film Awards, The Kerala Story won Best Director and Best Cinematography awards.
Directed by Sudipto Sen and starring Adah Sharma, The Kerala Story, which was released on May 5, 2023, emerged as one of the most successful films at the box office. However, the movie came in for severe criticism from some quarters, with many, including Opposition leaders, alleging that it falsely claimed that 32,000 women, who went missing from Kerala, were forced into terrorism upon alleged conversion or sold to ISIS as sex slaves.
The movie faced a backlash in several states, with the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government imposing a ban on screening the film in the state.
(With inputs from ANI)
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