"The Kerala Story" plot fine but numbers exaggerated: Shashi Tharoor

New Delhi: A day after his remarks about the upcoming film “The Kerala Story”, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor conceded on Tuesday that he did not have any problem with the plot of the film but the number of cases of women from the state disappearing was a far cry.

After some twitterartis dug out Tharoor’s 2021 tweet narrating the story of three Kerala women being taken to Afghanistan, he said that he was aware of four such cases.

“But four cases are a far cry from the 32,000 that the film-makers are alleging. If there really were so many ISIS female members from Kerala, that would mean double the number when you count their husbands, whereas even Western intelligence sources says the number of ALL Indians in ISIS does not approach three figures. This gross exaggeration and distortion of the Kerala reality is what I am objecting to,” Tharoor said in a tweet.

Many are spreading this 2021 tweet of mine as if it undermines my present objections to the trailer & publicity for "The Kerala Story". Yes, I was approached then by three Kerala mothers and was aware of a fourth, and I was open about my concerns about their daughters'… https://t.co/R8Vn1RsfpU

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 2, 2023

Tagging a poster of the Muslim Youth League Kerala offering a reward of Rs 1 crore if someone can prove allegations that 32,000 Keralites converted and fled to Syria, Tharoor on Monday said, "Now there's an opportunity for all those hyping the alleged conversions of 32,000 women on Kerala to Islamism - to prove their case and make some money." "Will they be up to the challenge or is there simply no proof because none exists?" the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said, using the hashtag 'Not Our Kerala Story'.

In another tweet, he said, "Let me stress, I am not calling for a ban on the film. Freedom of expression does not cease to be valuable just because it can be misused. But Keralites have every right to say loud & clear that this is a misrepresentation of our reality."

Let me stress, I am not calling for a ban on the film. Freedom of expression does not cease to be valuable just because it can be misused. But Keralites have every right to say loud & clear that this is a misrepresentation of our reality. https://t.co/sEIG91mjSP

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 1, 2023

It may be *your* Kerala story. It is not *our* Kerala story. pic.twitter.com/Y9PTWrNZuL

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 30, 2023

'The Kerala Story', starring Adah Sharma, is set to be released in cinemas on May 5. Written and directed by Sudipto Sen, the film is portrayed as "unearthing" the events behind "approximately 32,000 women" allegedly going missing from Kerala.

According to the CPI(M) and the Congress in Kerala, the film falsely claims they converted, got radicalised and were deployed in terror missions in India and the world.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Sunday had slammed the makers of the film, saying they were taking up the Sangh Parivar propaganda of projecting the state as a centre of religious extremism by raising the issue of 'love jihad' -- a concept rejected by the courts, probe agencies and the Home Ministry.

'The Kerala Story' is backed by Sunshine Pictures Private Limited, founded by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, who serves as the producer, creative director and co-writer of the film.

The film's writer-director Sudipto Sen's earlier movies are 'Aasma', 'Lucknow Times' and 'The Last Monk.'