Now, you know that religion is a supremely sensitive topic; especially in a country like ours where communal discord is apparent. Ever since the Britishers carefully-engineered divide and rule sowed the seeds of mistrust and disharmony between the Hindus and Muslims, people from the two communities are often conflicted with each other. But the situation becomes much grimmer when lies are sold under the garb of a ‘true story’ to spread hate and malice. This comes from a recent Islamophobic teaser trailer shared by Adah Sharma on her Twitter handle for her upcoming movie, The Kerala Story.
In the now-viral teaser, Adah Sharma can be seen clad in a burqa giving a monologue. She says she was Shalini Unnikrishnan but now is Fatima Ba, an ISIS terrorist locked in Afghanistan Jail. She claims she’s one of the 32000 girls from Kerala who’ve been forcefully converted to Islam and moved to the deserts of Syria and Yemen.
The actress shared the teaser along with a hashtag – #TrueStory. The video circulated on social media platforms, with people believing this fictitious story about rampant conversions in God’s Own Country. Several news outlets also wrote about it, thereby amplifying its reach.
Until the realisation dawned that the story and the 32000 number are entirely fake. Now, Twitter users are calling out the teaser for being Islamophobic and spreading hate.
No official concrete data backs the claim made in the teaser. In fact, no reliable evidence exists. Reportedly, after the release of the teaser, a Tamil Nadu-based journalist, Aravindakshan BR, wrote to Prasoon Joshi, chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification and others seeking a ban on the film unless substantial evidence corroborating the claim is provided. He also forwarded a copy of the complaint to the Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan and Kerala DGP.
The DGP has ordered an FIR against the film crew for spreading misinformation about the state and “presenting the state as a safe shelter for terrorists.”
