12 MONTHS: MIN CM slams communal narratives in cinema

CONDEMNING a national award-winning film for misrepresenting Kerala and discrediting its secular values, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan urged the state's film fraternity to unite against the misuse of cinema as a medium for spreading communal narratives.

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @T'Puram

Speaking at the inauguration of the two-day Kerala Film Policy Conclave -- convened to formulate the state's first comprehensive film policy -- in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday, he emphasised the need to uphold the cultural and secular foundations of Malayalam cinema.

"The National Award for 'The Kerala Story' can only be seen as a celebration of the cultural corruption that misuses films as a means to spread communal hatred. It is unfortunate that a film that insults Kerala's secular traditions and presents the state in a defamatory light has been feted. We should think about why criteria beyond art are used to evaluate art. It sends the message that art can be used to destroy the secular foundations of our country and replace it with communalism. Malayalam cinema has achieved greatness by being rooted in truth, humaneness, and a secular way of life -- a tradition now under attack," Pinarayi said.