Actor Tovino Thomas shared his take on the ongoing controversy around Adah Sharma’s latest film, The Kerala Story.
Vipul Shah’s latest release, The Kerala Story frontlined by Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Sonia Balani and Siddhi Idnani has lately been in the news for its controversial content. Meanwhile, Malayalam actor Tovino Thomas who is currently in Mumbai, to promote his film, 2018, shared his take on the film in his recent interview with a news portal.
On being asked how he feels when people call his film, 2018, ‘The Real Kerala Story’ and whether he is upset with the way the film has painted the state in a certain light, the Minnal Murali actor shared that he has neither watched The Kerala Story nor spoken to anyone who has watched that film.
He told Indian Express, “I saw the trailer. Its description said ‘32000 women…’ And then they (the makers) themselves changed it from 32000 to 3. What does that mean? As far as I know there are 35 million people in Kerala and with these three incidents nobody can generalise it. I’ll not deny the fact that this happened in Kerala. This might have happened. I don’t personally know it but I have read it in news. Today whatever we see are not facts, just opinions. On five different channels we see the same news in five different versions. So, I don’t know what is right and what is wrong but I have heard these opinions. So, I’ll not deny the fact that this happened. But three out of 35 million — cannot be generalized and giving misinformation is very bad.”
Questioning why the makers of The Kerala Story used the figure ‘32000’ in the first place which was later changed to three, he continued, “We all know that 32000 was a fake figure, now it has been changed to three. What does that mean? I don’t want to state anything but people will understand. I want people to stop believing blindly. Whatever it is, we all are human beings. We all have the same brain capacity, so stop believing anything blindly. Even if I say something, don’t believe it blindly. Think! You have a brain so think and decide. It is 2023, we are supposed to stop believing blindly and start thinking, rationalising. Don’t let anybody feed misinformation to you.”
Tovino said that while people can show fictional stories in cinema, it is wrong to name the film, The Kerala Story.
“Cinema can be fiction. Nothing wrong in making a fictional movie but naming it The Kerala Story, no that is not the Kerala story. I’ll not admit it, that’s not the story of Kerala. I know that. I am born and raised in Kerala and that is not the Kerala story. I have seen people (suffering, surviving and coming together) in 2018 and that was not 32000 or 3, that was actually millions of people who stood together with love and compassion during the floods. We didn’t see any political parties separating anyone or any religion separating anyone. I just saw human beings staying together and trying to survive and they succeeded,” the actor told the publication.
He also emphasized that cinema is one of the most powerful mediums which can be used to give out good messages and that it wouldn’t be misused.
Tovino was quoted as saying by the publication, “I think cinema can give out good messages. At least we can try to not give out bad messages. Cinema is an entertainment medium. Entertainment can change people’s minds. If someone is stressed and they get stress relief by watching a movie then I believe that cinema’s purpose is served. Cinema is one of the most influential art forms, one of the most powerful mediums in today’s world. So we have an option to give a very strong message to the audience and that should be taken as a responsibility. Cinema is a much purer form of art. It should not be misused.”
Meanwhile, Tovino’s latest Malayalam film, 2018, is having a successful run in theatres.
