Dharmesh Bajpai, a businessman from Lucknow who recently watched the movie, feels the issue of religious conversion requires introspection and not dirty politics. His views:
I feel that The Kerala Story is an eye opener. The issue of religious conversion in India goes largely unnoticed as many women are cheated by miscreants and forced to convert for criminal or anti-national purposes. Everyone, especially young girls, women, and parents of the girl child should watch the film as it is a wake-up call to realize the gravity of the situation.
Both state and central governments must take the issue of religious conversion seriously and initiate concrete steps to stop the menace. These practices are being conducted in a very organized manner endangering our ethics, values, and national security at large. To be precise, all Hindu girls and their parents should watch the film. This is an in-your-face cinematic work for those who believe that love is blind and it has no boundaries. A marriage is a sacrosanct relationship and must not be built on false grounds.
Unlike other films that tried to touch the issue, The Kerala Story is a thought-provoking movie which does not pulls any punches. The moral of the story is to give your children the knowledge about your religion (Hinduism) as it educates them about the dangers and trappings of vested interests.
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There are many hard-hitting scenes in the film which force us to rethink about how we raise our children and important aspects of Hinduism or our culture that need to be passed on to the next generation without maligning other religions or values. For example, in the film, the actress, who portrays one of the victims, innocently asks his father as to why he did not pass on the learning and the `remedy’ when it is well mentioned and taught in Hinduism. The film also portrays how ‘grooming’ can put in danger the lives and psyches of young impressionable minds.
I am both amazed and anguished by the fact that the film is being dubbed as propaganda against one community when the real message is one that concerns our children safety from terrorism. But some states have been playing petty politics over the subject and trying to divert the real issue. It is also pitiful of the politicians who, in a bid to appease a particular community, are indirectly putting our national security in danger by fanning the misdeeds of infiltrators involved in this heinous activity.
I term the act as foolish and an attempt to keep away the viewers and the public from knowing the harsh reality. Are the governments in other states (that have made the film tax-free) any less concerned about the security and interest of their people?
I would also like to call upon Bollywood brigade and the 100-crore clubbers of Indian cinema to take stand on The Kerala Story. Don’t they have the guts to stand up and utter a word for a film that, in a way, is championing the national interest and exposing those who always hide behind liberal-secular facade?
As told to Rajat Rai