Anupam Kher on The Kerala Story: People want to see reality; nobody makes a film for propaganda

Anupam Kher has not yet seen The Kerala Story, but he is familiar with the furore surrounding the film, because not long ago, his The Kashmir Files was at the centre of a similar storm. Naturally, his take on the subject would be of interest, so, during a recent promotional gig for an upcoming film he was asked by CNN-News18 what his thoughts were on the recent controversy around The Kerala Files.

Responding to the query, Anupam said that it’s a film that people are loving and that by loving he does not mean it in the conventional sense. Instead, it was to do with people wanting to see the reality. Anupam’s logic was that you cannot take away the fact that people are going to the theatre, spending money and coming out. “Shocked is also an important reaction to a film. So, why not? Why shouldn’t we applaud such cinema?” he asked.

As for the film team’s controversial claim that 32,000 women went missing in Kerala, presumed radicalized and trafficked by ISIS, a number that was then cut down to only three in the official synopsis of the trailer, Anupam said that irrespective of numbers, even if it is only a handful, it is a tragedy that ought to be taken note of. The actor added that back in the day, film teams would look at creating some controversy to drum up publicity. “These days, though, you will see that it is the same few faces who create controversies. People have to understand that there is a lot of effort, time, and money that goes into making a film, so nobody is going to make a movie just for propaganda. You can do that by standing at Chandini Chowk with a mike and giving a speech. You don’t have to put in so much effort,” he reasons.