Cinema has power. It shapes perception even before facts have a chance to speak. When that power is used carelessly it does not entertain, it cultivates fear. The concern is not that a film chooses a controversial subject. The concern is why certain subjects are repeatedly chosen and why certain regions are repeatedly framed through suspicion. It is about the trailer of The Kerala Story 2 and the narrative it chooses to revive.
The first film, The Kerala Story positioned itself as an exposure of an organised conspiracy rooted in Kerala. It marketed allegation as reality. The sequel appears to continue that framework. Once again Kerala is framed not as a society with layered complexity but as fertile ground for systematic radicalisation. A trailer may be brief but intention is visible even in fragments.
Kerala is not a mythological territory hidden from the rest of the country. It is a state with one of the highest literacy rates in India, a place known for social indicators that many other regions still aspire to reach. It is a land where temples, churches and mosques stand within walking distance of each other. It is a society where cultural debates exist, as they do everywhere, but where coexistence has been practiced more consistently than it has been advertised. When a film selects such a state and constructs a narrative without transparent evidence, questions are inevitable.
If the claim is based on reality then where are the publicly verifiable sources. Where are the numbers scrutinised by independent institutions. Where are the court records that support the scale of the allegation. Cinema cannot hide behind creative liberty when it markets itself as truth. When a film positions itself as exposing reality, it holds the responsibility of evidence.
It is equally important to ask why the lens is so selective. India is vast. Every state has complex histories, communal tensions, political failures, and social contradictions. Why travel across the map to construct a narrative around Kerala. Why not explore the caste violence in certain regions. Why not examine honour killings elsewhere. Why not analyse economic exploitation in states where it is statistically alarming. Selectivity reveals intent.
Then comes the issue of lifestyle choices being framed as cultural invasion. Food habits in India have always been diverse. What one community eats is not dictated by another. Beef consumption is legal in some states and restricted in others. It is governed by law and personal choice, not by coercion from neighbours. To portray dietary habits as a tool of forced ideological control is to ignore federal structure and personal freedom.
The silence of Censor board also invites scrutiny. Certification boards are often vigilant about words, symbols, and dialogues that question authority or challenge certain ideologies. Yet when narratives that risk amplifying communal mistrust are presented, They seem silent. If censorship exists it must operate by principle and not by preference. Otherwise it becomes political approval.
India has long been a nation of unity in diversity. This phrase shows a constitutional commitment to pluralism. Diversity does not mean uniformity and it does not mean suspicion. It means coexistence under law. Films that frame demographic change as conspiracy without verified grounding weaken that principle. They do not protect society. They polarise it.
Fear is easy to manufacture. It requires only repetition. Education however requires nuance. When a film portrays an entire community as part of a coordinated scheme, without credible academic or factual backing, it simplifies deeply complex social realities into convenient narratives. That is not research.
Criticism of such cinema is not an attack on artistic freedom. It is a defence of responsible storytelling. Artists have the right to create. Audiences have the right to question. Democracy depends on both. The bigger issue is not one film. It is the pattern of narratives that choose division. A society that consumes suspicion daily will eventually normalise it. That is far more dangerous than any fictional storyline.
If a story claims to expose truth, let it stand on verified data. If it claims to represent a state, let it show balance. If it claims to defend the nation, let it protect its pluralism first.
Cinema can illuminate. It can also inflame. The difference lies in intention and accountability.
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