How Did Indian Extremists Turn Bollywood Into an Anti-Muslim Platform?

Historically, Bollywood has managed to remain relatively unscathed by the Hindu–Muslim conflicts that have plagued India. Known for its liberal values, inclusion of Muslim actors, and instances of celebrity Hindu–Muslim marriages, the Hindi film industry has served as a significant counterforce against such tensions.

However, a recent controversy surrounding a low-budget film titled The Kerala Story, accused of promoting Islamophobia, has raised concerns about the industry’s long-standing tolerance.

The heated debate surrounding the film has resulted in communal clashes, at least one fatality, and over 100 arrests in Maharashtra, a western state of India.

The Kerala Story film serves as a prime example of how Hindu extremist groups, particularly the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have aimed to manipulate Bollywood, into a platform that antagonizes Muslims, in their pursuit of promoting the ideology of Hindu nationalism (Hindutva) since coming to power in 2014.

They have endeavored to establish official control over Bollywood by creating nationalist and extremist films that promote an anti-Muslim narrative, thereby diverging from Bollywood’s long-standing tradition of religious tolerance and imposing their influence upon it.

They have also taken active measures to hinder Muslim actors, seeking to limit their involvement based on the pretext that they portray characters in romantic films that allegedly contribute to the notion of “Love Jihad.”

According to their claim, such portrayals supposedly result in Hindu women converting to Islam after engaging in romantic relationships or marriages with Muslims.

 

A New Trend

Released in cinemas in May 2023, The Kerala Story has sparked controversy for its fictional depiction of three Indian women being forced to embrace Islam and join the Islamic State. This film seems to mark the beginning of the Hindu nationalist government’s intervention in the film industry.

The film has garnered support from leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and even the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, praised it during an election rally, stating that its purpose is to “highlight the repercussions of terrorism in society.”

The producers claimed that “the story is based on years of research and real events,” a falsehood that has been exposed by Indian newspapers, indicating their deliberate intention to tarnish Muslims’ image.

The Economist confirmed on May 21, 2023, that the biased Prime Minister Modi is attempting to strangle the Indian cinema industry to produce films against Muslims, such as The Kerala Story.

Under the title Is Narendra Modi turning Bollywood against Muslims?, the magazine wondered about Modi’s efforts to transform Bollywood, noting that the Indian cinema industry had previously survived the scourge of Hindu–Muslim conflicts by producing films that upheld liberal values and featured Muslim actors, expressing tolerance and safeguarding society from violence.

The magazine emphasized that this cinema, which used to be a healing balm for India, is now being manipulated to serve the agenda of the Hindu nationalist party, producing films, such as The Kerala Story, that are against Muslims.

According to Time Magazine’s report on May 18, 2023, this film represents a significant shift in the Indian film industry, reflecting a broader trend driven by the ruling Hindu party to reshape the landscape of cinema.

The magazine mentioned the production of the Hindu film The Kashmir Files, which alleges the migration of Hindus from Kashmir due to “Islamic terrorism.” This highlights the exploitation and co-optation of Bollywood as a platform to propagate their extremist nationalist ideologies and exert influence over the thoughts and beliefs of the Indian population.

The magazine raised questions about whether the Indian cinema industry is heading toward a new direction, amplifying stories that have fueled the agenda of the Bharatiya Janata Party since Modi came to power in 2014.

Writer Prem Shankar Jha believes that Prime Minister Modi’s support for the provocative and fictional narrative of ‘Kerala’ highlights the urgent need for Indian opposition unity to overthrow him in the 2024 elections.

In an article published on May 8, 2023, on The Wire website, Jha emphasized that if there is a lesson the opposition must learn from Modi’s endorsement of a film he probably hasn’t even seen the trailer of, it is that he will stop at nothing to regain power in 2024.

He warned that barely a year after the release of The Kashmir Files, Modi is once again using a highly divisive film, The Kerala Story, to stoke hatred against Indian Muslims to secure Hindu votes and stay in power next year.

 

The Story of the Film

The Kerala Story narrates the tales of three young girls from various regions of Kerala, with the primary focus on the story of Shalini, who is abducted and subsequently converted to Islam. Shalini is then radicalized and compelled to join ISIS as a terrorist.

The film portrays the narrative of a young girl named Fatima who aspires to become a nurse. However, her life takes a drastic turn when she is forcefully abducted from her home and subjected to indoctrination by extremist groups, leading to her transformation into a terrorist who joins forces with the Islamic State. Ultimately, she is apprehended and becomes a captive in Afghanistan.

According to a report by the Outlook website on May 22, 2023, the film asserts that 32,000 women from the state of Kerala were subjected to brainwashing and converted to Islam, ultimately joining the ranks of the Islamic State.

It alleges that these women went to war with the organization in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, although there is no official evidence to support these claims.

The film stars relatively unknown actors and non-mainstream stars and has a very low budget.

However, its strong anti-Muslim sentiment in India has generated significant controversy, making it a topic of discussion among the public and on social media platforms, and it has achieved profits.

As soon as the film’s story emerged, even before its release, politicians and lawmakers in the state of Kerala called for its ban out of fear that it would fuel sectarian violence and hatred against Islam.

Indian Muslims have affirmed that the film’s objective is to tarnish the reputation of Muslim women in the country and support the religious narratives of the ruling Hindu party regarding “Muslim extremism.”

Critics have also supported their views, stating that the film spreads falsehoods about forced conversion to Islam and reinforces Islamophobia.

Critics described the film as “Hindu nationalist propaganda” and “Hindutva propaganda” that portrays Muslims as terrorists, according to BBC.

Indian critic Navin J. Antony stated in The Week on May 5, 2023, that the film is a poisoned chalice against Muslims.

Throughout the film, it becomes evident that not a single Muslim character is depicted with humanity, while conversely, not a single non-Muslim character is portrayed as a victim of the alleged Islamic conspiracy. This deliberate portrayal exposes the underlying message of the film.

Another critic, Alishan Jafri, stated on The Wire on May 14 that the film’s producer’s claim of 32,000 Indian women being forcibly converted to Islam and joining ISIS was a lie.

However, there is a well-known fact in police records that extremist Hindus have been killing Muslims because they slaughter cows for consumption, and Indian newspapers have published stories about Hindus making bombs. Would the producer of The Kerala Story film dare to make a film about these 23,000 Hindu extremists?

Jitendra Awhad, a member of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), stated that the film is not based on facts and called for its ban.

He even went so far as to say that the film’s producer should be publicly hanged for inciting hatred and violence, according to EuroNews on May 9, 2023.

The Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, acknowledged that the film seems to be made with the aim of sowing sectarian polarization, division, and spreading hatred. However, he refused to ban it.

To prevent violence between Muslims and Hindus, the government of West Bengal banned the film, but the Supreme Court of India lifted the ban imposed by the state.

On the other hand, states governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party, such as Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, supported the film. Both states encouraged Indians to watch it by exempting it from taxes.

The film has sparked violence in several states, with Hindus posting anti-Muslim content on social media in response to the film. Deaths and injuries have occurred, and hundreds of people have been arrested.

Islamic organizations and prominent figures in the UK have called for exerting pressure on British cinemas to cancel the highly contentious screening of The Kerala Story film.

The film has faced severe criticism for its promotion of Islamophobia and dissemination of false narratives about Islam in India.

These Islamic organizations have voiced their objection to the anticipated screening of the film in British cinemas, citing concerns over the propagation of hate messages against Islam.

Their concerns are particularly heightened due to recent instances of violent sectarian clashes between Hindus and Muslims in certain areas of the UK.

 

The Lie of 32,000

The film was initially promoted as being based on true stories of over 32,000 women, but the filmmakers were ordered to retract these claims after the Supreme Court announced that they lacked evidence to support these allegations.

On May 5, 2023, the Supreme Court of Kerala ordered the film to be screened but stipulated that the filmmakers must remove the “lie” of propaganda that claimed 32,000 Indian women from Kerala had joined the Islamic State.

The trailer features a woman wearing a niqab, who claims her name was Shalini Unnikrishnan and that she wanted to become a nurse, but now she is “Fatima Ba, an Islamic State terrorist in a jail in Afghanistan.”

She further alleges in the trailer, which has been viewed by nearly 45 million people on YouTube, that there are 32,000 girls like her who were converted to Islam and buried in the deserts of Syria and Yemen.

Journalist Real Aravindakshan tweeted that he requested an investigation and demanded the filmmakers provide evidence, as he was outraged by the claims made in the trailer. He said perhaps some cases occurred, but 32,000 is an unbelievable number.

The director of the film claimed in a 2021 interview that he arrived at this number based on figures presented by the former Chief Minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy, to the Kerala Legislative Assembly.

He was quoted as claiming that every year, around 2,800 to 3,200 girls convert to Islam, and therefore, according to his estimation over a period of 10 years, the number would be 32,000 girls. According to his claim, they would then become recruits in the Islamic State.

However, the Indian fact-checking website, Alt News, confirmed in a report on November 8, 2022, that there is “no evidence” to support this claim. In fact, Chandy stated in 2012 that 2,667 girls had converted to Islam in the state since 2006, without mentioning an annual number.

An official in the Indian police, without revealing their identity to the BBC on November 10, 2022, confirmed that there are no more than 10 to 15 Indian women who converted to Islam and left to join the Islamic State from Kerala in 2016.

 

‘The War on the Khans’

According to Foreign Policy, on February 16, 2023, after a year of Narendra Modi assumed the prime minister’s office in 2014, an attack on Muslim Bollywood actors began, with the famous Muslim actor Shah Rukh Khan being targeted and labeled as a terrorist.

Subsequently, fringe political groups affiliated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and even some party leaders, repeatedly attacked Shah Rukh Khan.

When the promotional trailer for Shah Rukh Khan’s latest film, Pathaan, was released in January 2023, Hindu nationalists from the Bharatiya Janata Party expressed their objection to the film, claiming that it denigrated Hinduism because the film’s heroine was seen wearing a saffron-colored swimsuit, which is considered sacred by Hindus.

These allegations were baseless, as stated by Foreign Policy. Bollywood’s actresses had previously worn saffron-colored outfits in songs without causing any controversy.

However, all of this was targeted at Shah Rukh Khan simply because he is Muslim; the aim was to attack him.

Following the spread of calls to boycott the film on Twitter, they were quickly followed by further calls to boycott Bollywood, alleging that Muslim actors had a stronghold on the industry, thus igniting a “war against the Khans,” referring to ten Muslim actors collectively known as “Khan.”

Nevertheless, fans flocked to cinemas across India in January 2023 to witness Shah Rukh Khan’s return to the silver screen after a four-year hiatus.

This dealt a blow to the extremist Hindu party’s plan to isolate him and prevent the Indian audience from watching his films.

Foreign Policy stated that the success of Shah Rukh Khan’s film demonstrated that Hindu nationalists are still unable to erase the appeal of a Muslim celebrity. However, this does not indicate a change in the mood of Hindu bigotry in a country that remains under the control of Modi and his party’s broader political agenda.