According to an India Today article, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has awarded the controversial Hindi film The Kerala Story, which is due to be released on May 5, an ‘A’ certificate.
Aside from that, ten scenes were cut from the release print, including an entire interview with a former Kerala chief minister identified as V S Achuthanandan.
Another scene that was omitted was “dialogues and improper references to all Hindu Gods.” Some dialogues have been said to have been changed.
A section in which a conversation supposedly saying “Indian Communists are the biggest hypocrites” was also cut from the film.
According to the article, a former Kerala Chief Minister predicted in a TV interview that the state will become Muslim-majority in the twenty years to come because young people were being persuaded to convert to Islam. The censor board insisted on removing the full interview from the film.
Who can watch ‘A’ certificate movies?
A-rated films are available to the general public, but only to people (aged 18 and over).
These films may contain explicit sexual scenes, violence, and strong abusive language, but no words that insult or degrade women or any social group are permitted, and nudity is not permitted.
The Kerala Story Controversy
The Kerala Story, directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, stars Adah Sharma, Siddhi Idnani, Yogita Bihani, and Sonia Balani in the key parts.
The trailer for ‘The Kerala Story’ sparked outrage because it claimed 32,000 females from the state went missing and eventually joined the terrorist organization, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The film has also caused a political uproar in the nation, with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI (M)] and the Congress criticizing the filmmakers and accusing them of promoting Sangh Parivar propaganda by using the bogey of ‘love jihad’ to portray the state as a hotbed of religious extremism.
