IDUKKI: The Idukki diocese of Syro-Malabar Catholic Church has screened the controversial 'The Kerala Story' movie to the catechism students during its three-day vacation training class held at various churches in the diocese from April 2.
'The Kerala Story', a low-budget Hindi film directed by Sudipto Sen, tells the fictional story of three women from Kerala who are lured into joining the Islamic State (IS) group after being converted to Islam.
Speaking to TNIE on Monday, Idukki diocese media commission chairman Fr Jins Karakkat said that the training class was an annual program held for students from class 10 to 12 every year during the summer vacation.
The class was organized at various churches in the diocese and the students were given a booklet. Based on the contents in it, the three-day training class was taken.
“Since the content in the booklet was ‘Love’, a movie relating to the topic was also screened during the program. So that the students will get a deeper understanding on the topic and they are asked to write a review,” he said.
On the decision to particularly select the controversial movie ‘The Kerala Story’, Fr Karakkat said he expected the movie would give awareness to the students who are in their adolescence from falling into love relationships. “The movie was apt to the topic of the training class and hence was selected for screening before students,” he said.
Although the filmmakers of the movie claimed the film was based on years of research, critics have panned it as propaganda aimed to stoke religious
disharmony and Islamophobia.
The CPM and the Congress in Kerala had lodged separate complaints with the Election Commission of India against Doordarshan's decision to air the controversial movie, alleging it could potentially polarise society along religious lines and urged the poll panel to intervene and stop its screening.
However, the BJP claimed that the theme of the movie was real and wondered why the Left and the Congress were opposing it.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had condemned Doordarshan's decision and asked the public broadcaster to withdraw from screening the controversial movie, saying it would only "exacerbate communal tensions" ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Vijayan had asked the national broadcaster not to become a "propaganda machine" for the BJP and the RSS.