The Kerala Story Reviews

The film itself is nothing but a poorly-made, poorly-acted rant which is not interested in interrogating the social complexities of Kerala, an India state proud of its multi-religious, multi-ethnic identity.

Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Sonia Balani and Siddhi Idnani starrer ‘The Kerala Story’ has been the talk of the town for quite some time. Is the movie worth your time? Or can you simply skip it?

One of the maxims of movie criticism is to never pay much attention to the publicity material. Or to the backstory of those making the film.

It is almost painfully ironic that a film about the sinister effects of misinformation and another that changed its claims from telling the story of ‘32,000’ people to ‘3’ people have released at the same time.

It’s fitting that a film about the dangers of religious indoctrination devotes every one of its scenes to brainwashing its audience.

Adah Sharma delivers an earnest performance and captures the pain of the vulnerable Shalini who is robbed of her innocence but retains her spine.

We know we have reached Kerala in The Kerala Story, directed by Sudipto Sen, when its lead character, Shalini Unnikrishnan (Adah Sharma), wears a white and gold saree and walks with a Kathakali dancer.

The Kerala Story turns too melodramatic and manipulative due to the excessiveness of its background score, which literally highjacks the actors performances to inform us about the intent and turmoil of the characters.

Sens screenplay largely concerns itself with how the alleged entrapment of Hindu girls work. For those unaware, the term love jihad was first used by the Catholic Church in Kerala. He blames deracination for their predicament.

The Kerala Story is manipulative storytelling at its best, and that isnt good. Be a clever audience and ask questions about the content you are watching. Mark its relevancy and check whether its substantial.

Since, the attempt is earnest and the research there( despite all the contention), 'The Kerala Story' is worth a watch.

At certain points, the film feels more like a tutorial of radicalization than entertainment for the audience.

On the whole, The Kerala Story is a sureshot winner as it will shake the audience. Its word of mouth will be tremendous. In other words, collections are bound to pick up.

By exaggerating everything, tamping down any debate that could have arisen and shooting rapes in disturbing detail, the film ends up doing the opposite of what it intended.

The Kerala Story is not The Kashmir Files when it comes to execution. However, it does, unfortunately, have the capability to stir communal tension. It could have been better and more responsibly made, for sure.