Vipul Shah on The Kerala Story criticism: ‘We are making a film on a big tragedy, nothing will be without evidence’

Vipul Amrutlal Shah’s next as producer, The Kerala Story, has already courted controversy prior to its release. Directed by Sudipto Sen, the film, starring Adah Sharma, claims many young women in Kerala are being brainwashed into joining terror organisations. A teaser for the film, released in November, was criticised for carrying inaccurate facts about the number of women, who might have been involved in these kinds of situations. (Also read: Shefali Shah opens up on ‘drawbacks’ of working with husband Vipul Shah, adds she never told him ‘mere liye ye kar’)

In the teaser, Adah’s character, Shalini Unnikrishnan, is seen wearing a burkha. She states, “Now I am Fatima Ba, an IS terrorist in a jail in Afghanistan.” She also adds that “32,000 girls” have been also been recruited and converted like her. After the release of the film, a few politicians from Kerala shared that the film should be banned, while a journalist has written to the chief minister asking for an inquiry.

In an interview with Mid-Day, Vipul has acknowledged the feedback to the film. He shared, “We will address [the accusations] in due time. Nothing we say will be without evidence. When we present our facts and figures, people will get the answers. Whether they choose to accept them or not is their choice. Director Sudipto Sen has researched extensively for four years before starting the film.”

He added, “We are making a film on a big tragedy. If I feel that I want to tell this story as a filmmaker, then, discussion on whether I am pro-establishment or not will only reflect an individual’s point of view. As a filmmaker, I only think of the story that touches my heart, and moves me enough to want to narrate it.”

Vipul, who is married to actor Shefali Shah, produced and directed the Disney+ Hotstar medical thriller Human earlier this year. The drama, which featured Shefali in the lead, also starred Kirti Kulhari, Vishal Jethwa, Indraneil Sengupta, Seema Biswas, Ram Kapoor and Mohan Agashe. His last film as director was Namaste England (2018) starring Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra.

Sudipto is known for his work on the films Aasma, Guruji: Ahead of Time, Lucknow Times, and The Last Monk. He has also worked on short films and documentaries including Akhnoor, In The Name Of Love, Indian Autumn and Battle of Saraighat.