'The Kerala Story' trailer: Story of how Shalini became Fatima
What's the story
The trailer of The Kerala Story was released on Wednesday morning, featuring actor Adah Sharma in the lead. The film is based on the horrific real-life incidents of how young Kerala women were converted to Islam for their recruitment by ISIS. the upcoming title will be released in cinema halls on May 5. Here's everything to know about the title.
Context
Why does this story matter?
One of the hard-hitting films based on human tragedy which was released in 2022 was Vivek Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files. Recently, Anubhav Sinha's Bheed, starring Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar, was another film human tragedy that reflected the plight of people during the COVID-19 lockdown. And now, The Kerala Story is another attempt at showing one more tragic incident.
Details
Story of a Hindu-Malayali nurse
The trailer begins with Shalini Unnikrishnan (Sharma), a Hindu nurse from Kerala. It then shows her in a jail, where she's asked when did she join ISIS. "It is important to know how I joined ISIS before knowing when and why I joined it," she says. It then shows how women were manipulated to convert to Islam, and eventually forced to join ISIS.
Real story
What is the film based on?
The Kerala Story is based on the systematic kidnapping of thousands of girls from Kerala who were trafficked to join ISIS and sent to war-stricken zones. Reportedly, more than 32,000 women became a victim of it and were converted to Islam. Sharma's character is reportedly based on a woman who became a part of the 21-member Kerala group which joined ISIS in 2016.
Cast and crew
Meet the team behind 'The Kerala Story'
The Kerala Story is directed by Sudipto Sen. Producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah, who has backed films such as Namastey London, Singh is Kingg, Commando 2, Commando 3, and Force among others, has produced the film. Apart from Sharma, actors Pranay Pachauri, Yogita Bihani, Sonia Balani, Siddhi Idnani, Vijay Krishna, and Pranav Mishra will also be seen in important roles.