Thread by @singhsahana

The anatomy of religious conversion. That’s what I went to see in “The Kerala Story”. Why would Hindus willingly forsake a way of life that offers so much freedom to explore, encourages them to pursue knowledge & self-awareness but doesn't condemn non-followers to hellfire? (1)

As the movie showed, it’s the trusting, vulnerable, rootless, & utterly unsuspecting ones. This is one of the boldest movies ever made, and just like in #TheKashmirFiles it’s a film that needed to be made urgently, however flaw-ridden it might be. (2)

The scenes could have been way better imagined, the dialogues could have been crisper and it was jarring to hear Hindi being interspersed with Malayalam in family conversations. Yet, the overall premise of the movie is powerful enough to make one tolerate the inadequacies. (3)

We have all heard about a well-organized network to lure girls to become sex slaves for ISIS but to see a movie actually showing its execution in Kerala was most disturbing. I'd give the best actor tag to Asifa, the Hijabi roommate of the innocent Shalini, Gitanjali & Nimah. (4)

She uses every opportunity to plant fear, uncertainty & doubt in their minds about Hinduism & Christianity. The skillfulness with which she indoctrinates & traps victims while coming across as a friend and supporter should be seen by young adults across the world. (5)

“Girls wearing hijab do not get raped,” she declares. “Hellfire will feel 70 times hotter than any fire on Earth,” she says with finality. “Only Allah can save us from hellfire.” She keeps inviting roommates to her home where her family showers them with hospitality. (6)

How she gets two of the girls to willingly wear hijab is interesting. How attractive young men are used to seduce young Hindu women at an impressionable age when they crave romance is well portrayed. Zakir Naik’s videos are shown being used for brainwashing. (7)

The Christian roommate is shown resisting conversion better than clueless Hindu girls. Where persuasion doesn't work, drugs do the trick. The families broken by the conversion of girls make loud and clear what Swami Dayanand Sarasvati always said - conversion is violence. (8)

The helplessness of the police which cannot stop adults from converting or entering relationships is conveyed in the movie. “Bring us evidence we can act upon,” says a police officer. And the Christian character in the movie says even FIRs after rapes were not registered. (9)

The most striking moment for me is when Shalini-turned-Fatima finds herself in the stark barrenness of Afghanistan & wonders why she left the bountiful greenery of Kerala. The contrast in landscape felt like a metaphor for the contrast in philosophies and cultures. (10)

The scenes of violence against women in Afghanistan were credibly presented. But the escape of Shalini from the cave shelters felt contrived. I wish Sudipto Sen had learned from the realistic portrayal in Kamalahasan’s Vishwaroopam. Perhaps it was a matter of budget. (11)

The songs were good but background music was often aggravating. And now for the 32,000 Kerala girls whose bodies have been buried in Syria - surely that could have been cut out. The unproven number diverts attention away from the evil that needs to be discussed. (12)

Deceptive conversions are happening even without the purpose of recruiting into ISIS and that needs to be tackled urgently by society. Note that I am not in favour of calling every Hindu-Muslim marriage as Love Jihad. That trivializes the issue. (13)

I felt that if @vivekagnihotri had made the film, there would've been an added element of history. The trapping of girls to inflict a wound on society is not new. Rape has been a tool for subjugation & demographic change from medieval times, which could've been mentioned. (14)

A passing remark by a Maulvi held my attention. He scolded his protégés for not doing as good a job as their counterparts in Europe. “Over there, they are recruiting so many but here in India, you are struggling to get even a few!” (15)

Late in the day but Hindu society has boldly begun to use movies to comment on social issues that could not be discussed before in Independent India. I hope the patriotic Indian Muslims will also understand why this film is important. (16)