Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Moderate
- harrowing
- confrontational
- urgent
- political discussion
- serious viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly regarded the film as a heavy-handed and propagandistic treatment of radicalization despite its topical urgency and committed performances.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Fatima Ba narrates her ordeal from imprisonment while the story reconstructs the events that led to her detention.
The plot centers on women being manipulated by religious vanguards and drawn into ISIS terrorism.
Its treatment of conversion, jihad, terrorism, and Hindu-Muslim relations generated major public and critical controversy.
The protagonist's abduction, manipulation, terrorist recruitment, and imprisonment create sustained distress and urgency.
Films like The Kerala Story, and why
The Kashmir Files
Shared political controversy, religious extremism, radicalization, and confrontational social-issue drama.
State of Siege: Temple Attack
Shared depiction of terrorism, ideological indoctrination, and morally urgent dramatic storytelling.
Lipstick Under My Burkha
Shared focus on vulnerable women, coercive religious manipulation, and intense issue-driven drama.
Movie Details
- Director
- Sudipto Sen
- Release Date
- 2023-05-05
- Runtime
- 138 min
- Rating
- 4.5 / 10 (36)
Cast
- Adah Sharma
- Yogita Bihani
- Sonia Balani
- Siddhi Idnani
- Eleena Koul
- Saniya Mirzaeva
- Benedict Garrett
- Bhavna Makhija
- Chandra Shekhar Dutta
- Vijay Krishna
Common questions
- What is The Kerala Story about?
- A Kerala nursing aspirant’s devastating account of abduction, coercive conversion, and entanglement with ISIS becomes a fiercely contested political drama.
- What is The Kerala Story like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Kerala Story as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Kerala Story violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Kerala Story as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Kerala Story?
- Critics broadly regarded the film as a heavy-handed and propagandistic treatment of radicalization despite its topical urgency and committed performances.
- Which films are like The Kerala Story?
- Films with a similar feel include The Kashmir Files, State of Siege: Temple Attack, and Lipstick Under My Burkha.
- How long is The Kerala Story?
- The Kerala Story runs 138 minutes.
