'While You Eat Dung, We Eat Beef": Kerala Minister Jeers Amid Film Controversy

The sequel of the controversial movie "The Kerala Story" is also making headlines for a scene that portrays a Hindu girl being forced to eat beef. The matter has escalated after Kerala minister V Sivankutty, in  a post on Facebook, wrote, "While you eat cow dung, those of us in Kerala will eat beef, mutton and chicken".

Earlier, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had criticised the movie, adding his voice to the widespread criticism that erupted after the trailer of the movie was released.

The Chief Minister questioned how toxic works made with the aim of spreading division and hatred in the society are allowed to be screened at a time a film was even denied screening permission at a film festival due to its title "Beef". 

"We must collectively reject attempts to portray Kerala, a land of religious harmony that stands at the forefront of sustainable development and is a model in maintaining law and order, as a center of terrorism," Vijayan said. 

"It is the responsibility of each of us to ensure that Kerala's secular foundation is not undermined by false propaganda and to reject it by upholding the values of secularism and brotherhood," he added.

The scene where a Hindu girl from Kerala is forced to eat beef by a Muslim family has already drawn criticism. Social media has been flooded with comments and memes ridiculing the film-makers, saying they were completely divorced from reality. Scores of women posted videos of themselves tucking into beef and parotta, declaring that the film probably meant a woman in some other part of the country. 

On Sunday, actor Prakash Raj addressed the controversy on Instagram. 

Sharing images of pork, beef and fish dishes on social media, he wrote, "The real #KeralaStory is how pork, beef and fish coexist with vegetarian sadya and all of them live in harmony. Please relish #justasking happy Sunday everyone."

Film-maker Anurag Kashyap called t7he film "propaganda". "Aisa kaun beef khilata hai? Aisa koi khichdi bhi nahi khilata hai (Who feeds someone beef like this? No one is fed even khichdi in this manner)," he said.

Left organisations DYFI and SFI have organised beef festivals serving beef and parotta. The film, they have declared, promotes communal hatred and misrepresents Kerala.

CPM MP John Brittas alleged that the upcoming film was part of a political attempt to polarise voters and malign Kerala ahead of elections. "It is a propaganda movie. It should be put in the septic tank rather than viewed in the theatre," Brittas said.

He, however, said he did not favour its ban.

Congress's KC Venugopal said the film aims to "insult and communally divide" Kerala by "inventing false stories" about people being forced to eat beef in the state

He alleged that the BJP-led Centre, which had honoured the first part of the movie "based solely on lies" with a national award, was encouraging such campaigns.

The BJP hit back at the state government, with state party chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar accusing Chief Minister Vijayan of "double standards" and "selectively interpreting" freedom of expression.

"But if someone makes a movie about 'love jihad', where is this freedom of expression and Article 19? I don't know what to say about this Chief Minister. It is all a selective interpretation by him," he said.