The Kerala Story: Kerala CM Slams National Award Honour, Sparks Controversy

The 71st National Film Awards were announced on 1 August 2025, where Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan jointly received the Best Actor award for 'Jawan' and actor Vikrant Massey for '12th Fail'. This was the first National Award of Shah Rukh Khan's 35-year-long career, which his fans and the Bollywood industry called a historic moment. At the same time, Vikrant Massey's acting was also praised. But after the announcement of the awards, politics heated up over a film. We are talking about the film 'The Kerala Story', which has been awarded the National Award in the Best Direction and Cinematography category. This decision has created a stir in Kerala politics.

Chief Minister expressed displeasure

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has strongly criticized the decision. He described the film as promoting a divisive and communal agenda. Vijayan wrote on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle, "The Kerala Story' is a film that completely spreads misinformation and tries to tarnish the image of Kerala. Giving the National Award to this film is not only unfortunate, but it also becomes a means of further fueling communal controversy."

He further wrote, "Honoring such a film is part of the Sangh Parivar's strategy to spread a communal agenda by using cinema as a weapon. Every Malayali and every citizen of the country who believes in democracy should raise their voice against this injustice."

The opposition also protested

Not just the Chief Minister of Kerala, but opposition leader VD Satheeshan also strongly objected to the award being given to this film. He said that this decision is a sign of using cinema as a political weapon. He called it an inflammatory and damaging step towards social harmony.

The film has already been mired in controversies

'The Kerala Story' was released in 2023, and since then, it has been surrounded by controversies. The film shows how some women of Kerala were converted to Islam and included in terrorist organizations like ISIS. However, the claim of this film was rejected by many political parties and social organizations and it was described as a distortion of facts. The makers of the film had described it as a 'film based on a true story' , but petitions were also filed against it in the court, and protests were also held at many places.

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