Statement Against NFDC’s Decision to Award ‘Kerala Story’
We, the student community of FTII, strongly condemn the decision to award The Kerala Story the title of Best Film and Sudipto Sen the title of Best Director at the 71st National Film Awards, presented by the National Film Development Corporation under the purview of the Government of India.
This decision is not simply disappointing—it is dangerous.
The state has once again made its position clear: it will reward propaganda disguised as cinema if it aligns with its majoritarian, hate-filled agenda. The Kerala Story is not a film—it is a weapon. A falsified narrative aimed at vilifying the Muslim community and demonizing an entire state that has historically stood for communal harmony, education, and resistance.
Cinema is not neutral. It is a powerful instrument of influence. When a government-endorsed body elevates a film that spreads misinformation and paranoia against minorities, it is not merely “recognising art”—it is legitimizing violence. It is scripting future lynchings, social exclusion, and political othering. It is telling a billion people: "This hate is acceptable. This is the story we choose to reward."
We refuse to accept that our craft—the cinema we believe in and are training to make—should be reduced to a tool of state-sponsored communalism. We refuse to accept that Islamophobia is now award-worthy. And we refuse to be silent as the industry we hope to enter is being reshaped to reward lies, bigotry, and fascist ideology.
The state must understand: giving awards to propaganda does not make it true. And we, as students and citizens, will not stop calling it what it is—incitement. Violence.