Mohan Tambe

I was surprised with an unseasonal shower of biased reviews for the much awaited movie - Kerala Story. Most reviewers gave the movie 1/2 out of 5 points. When most publications gang-up to beat down a reality based movie, then you know that a concerted effort is on to suppress some truth. But what was it that they were trying to hide? Moreover, I was amazed that instead of pointing out to the factual problems, they were nitpicking on what didn't matter - like the actress not having a proper Malyali accent, or wearing Jasmine flower in the hair which the modern girls don't do anymore. The ostensible reason for tearing down the movie was that it would promote hatred of a minority community. Well the stated goal of the movie was to show the extremism of ISIS and its fall out in some youths of Kerala. This is a known fact and has been decried by the media before, so what was this new communal angle? Although I am not a movie buff, I decided to watch the movie myself to find out the truth. I was in for a pleasant surprise in the quality of cinematography, casting, acting, narrative and directions. It all gelled together to convey the story in a vivid and impactful way making you recoil from the gruesome extremism which one couldn't have imagined earlier. There are some graphic scenes though where one had to close the eyes. There were some other poignant scenes, where tears tried to roll down on your cheek too. The posters of the movie and even the trailers had not evoked much interest as they showed four plain looking girls with no big banner Star. I was therefore quite impressed by the distinct lively characters they portrayed in a natural effortless way. Not just Adah Sharma but her three room mates too deserve accolades I learnt a lot from the movie, which even the Bond and other spy thriller movies had not prepared me for. After all reality is stranger than fiction. I found that the best of the extremists at the onset don't look like extremists and act gradually and patiently on their victims changing their psychology (aided by some psychotropic substances). I also learnt that they didn't think of themselves as the devils but upholder of piousness itself. There was a healthy, youth-curiosity oriented discussion about the role of gods in different religions. Both the virtues and weakness of different religions emerged, communism (atheism) being one of them. I found out that the narrative was not biased against any particular religion, but the problem lay in its interpretation by the extremists. So while the women of all religions in the world freely use the mobile phones, the ISIS extremists consider its usage by women as a sin punishable by death. I found out how the jihadi extremists not only destroy the lives of the non-believers but also the believers in the same religion. After all extremists have as such no religion. So this movie is not just a Kerala Story but a World Story of Extremism. The ISIS extremists featured in the movie have caused enough devastation all over the world, by brain-washing and recruiting innocent youth from different communities of the world. Many of the survivors who were trained for extremism are still in the UN Incarceration Centers. The real-life protagonist of the movie is in one of them. This movie is a must watch for every one as it shows that the world has to be united to fight terrorism war waged by extremist groups such as the ISIS.