The Kerala Story crew member gets threat, given police cover

The message, according to the police, was in Hindi and it read: “Tumne story dikha k accha nahi kiya. Ghar se akele mat nikalna”. (You haven’t done a good thing by showing the story. Don’t step out of the house alone). The person who received the threat has an office in the western suburbs and a police team is deployed there. Policemen, in plain clothes, are also keeping a watch, said a senior IPS officer.

MUMBAI: A female crew member of the film “The Kerala Story” has received a threat message on her mobile phone from an unknown number and has been provided with police protection after the movie director approached the authorities in the city.

People ride past a poster of a Hindi movie titled "The Kerala Story", outside a cinema in Mumbai, India May 9, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas (REUTERS)

The message, according to the police, was in Hindi and it read: “Tumne story dikha k accha nahi kiya. Ghar se akele mat nikalna”. (You haven’t done a good thing by showing the story. Don’t step out of the house alone).

The person who received the threat has an office in the western suburbs and a police team is deployed there. Policemen, in plain clothes, are also keeping a watch, said a senior IPS officer.

“The Kerala Story”, which released last week, has courted controversy as it deals with the story of a group of women from Kerala, who convert to Islam and join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

The officer confirmed that a crew member has received a threat message. “No formal or written complaint has been filed by the director or by the crew member, but they approached us after receiving the threat message. We have checked the message and are tracing its origin. Meanwhile, police security has been provided to the concerned person,” said the officer.

The movie has generated mixed response with the Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh governments making it tax-free while the Mamta Banerjee government has banned it in West Bengal.