Sudipto Sen’s The Kerala Story (2023) was an unabashedly communal film that passed itself off as a social drama inspired by actual incidents. The Kerala Story depicted Hindu women being seduced by Muslim men, converted to Islam and recruited into the Islamic State terrorist group. The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond brings the war on Muslims home.
Directed by Kamakhya Narayan Singh this time and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah once again, the spiritual sequel has three targets: Muslims, inter-faith relationships and the right to conversion. Shah and Amarnath Jha have written a film that shows Muslims as part of a “Ghazwa-e-Hind” mission to trick Hindu women into marriage, proselytise them by persuasion or force, make them pregnant and thereby catapult Muslims from distant minority into undisputed majority.
The aim, a cleric states, is to change India’s demographics within the next 25 years so that the country will be a Muslim nation ruled by sharia law.
In Kochi, Surekha (Ulka Gupta) is duped by the self-declared liberal journalist Salim (Sumit Gahlawat) into a live-in relationship. Salim assures the progressive-minded Surekha that he will neither make her convert not compel her to wear a hijab. Like every Muslim character in the movie, Salim is a deceiver, part of the larger conspiracy to increase his community’s ranks.
The same fate befalls aspiring dancer Divya (Aditi Bhatia) in Jodhpur. Divya’s husband Rashid (Yuktam Khosla) turns her against her parents and brings her into a house seething with people who treat her horribly. Make sure you put at least five or six children into her belly, Divya’s mother-in-law tells Rashid.
Promising javelin thrower Neha (Aishwarya Ojha) in Gwalior has it the worst. Immediately after marrying she marries Faizan (Arjun Aujla), he sells her into prostitution. Neha is raped on her wedding night and then repeatedly raped by various men, a horror that is overseen by an uncaring madam (Alka Amin).
All the female victims are given Muslim names (including Aliya) after being converted. All of them are verbally and physically assaulted. Surekha is forced to eat beef by Salim and his posse of female conspirators. Muslim women are shown to be active participants in the shriek-filled parade of abuse and rape.
The parents of the women flail helplessly. The law – meaning the Constitutional right to convert – is on their side, a lawyer tells Divya’s parents. Attempts to rally other Hindus are initially unsuccessful. Hindus have been divided for “a thousand years”, which is why they find themselves in this situation, a character says.
The 131-minute Hindi movie points fingers at modern Hindus who don’t bring up their children to be religious enough. While secularism is an obvious target, writers Vipul Amrutlal Shah and Amarnath Jha also try to turn the criticism of the previous movie on its head. When Surekha accuses her parents of being Islamophobic, they look horrified. Don’t talk like right-wing fanatics, the anguished parents are told.
The scenes set in the Hindu homes are filled with light, love and laughter. By contrast, the portions in the Muslim ghettos are dark, grim and claustrophobic.
“Forget conversion, they will forget their real version,” a cop sneers. This line is followed by shots of a bulldozer making its way to the homes of the guilty Muslims with the “Har Har Mahadev” chant in the background.
A song composed and sung by Mannan Shaah breaks out, with lyrics by Manoj Muntanshir that implore the “Babars and Aurangzebs” to “become a part of this country at least now”. How long will we – meaning the majority – allow this poison to fester, bear the burden of brotherhood, Muntashir asks. The question is rhetorical, followed by scenes of the perpetrators being tortured in prison.
The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond lives up to its title. The film goes far beyond its predecessor.
Released during the holy month of Ramzan after a legal battle, the movie states its agenda plainly, forcefully and without inhibition: to portray an entire community as unfeeling villains whose only goal is to expand their flock by any means possible, and to rouse feelings of suspicion, hatred and direct action against them.
You’ve read Scroll.
Now help sustain it
Scroll is funded by readers, not corporate owners. If you believe our work matters, support our newsroom. Become a member today!
We’re not driven by clicks or corporate interests – just honest, independent reporting. Keep us going. Support Scroll today!