Kochi: The Kerala High Court Tuesday refused to stay the exhibition of Manju Warrier-starrer Aami, which is based on the life of noted writer Madhavikutty.
The judge, however, admitted a petition filed by lawyer K P Ramachandran of Kochi, challenging the screening of the movie.
While declining to stay the screening of the movie, the court directed the Censor Board and the union information and broadcasting ministry to file counter affidavits in two weeks.
The petitioner alleged that the film, based on the life of Madhavikutty, was sending a message favoring 'love jihad'.
Madhavikutty had converted to Islam and taken the name of Kamala Surayya.
The petitioner urged the court to direct the Censor Board to ensure that the movie be certified only after ensuring that the film pictured the actual life of Madhavikutty.
"The film was directed by omitting the real life incidents of Madhavikutty, with a view to justify love jihad. Such a film comes to the fore in the wake of such cases (of love jihad) pending before the apex court and the NIA investigating such cases," he said.
"The conversion of Madhavikutty was the beginning of love jihad in Kerala. Love jihad is the grave menace in the southern state today," he alleged.
"Now the well-oiled machineries are working to meet the said end. The film, Aami, is intended to be a catalytic agent for the said process," Ramachandran submitted.
The petitioner also alleged that the movie was made to re-write history and 'twisted' the narrative according to the director Kamal's whims under the guise of freedom of expression.
Even if Aami was exhibited in cinema theatres, the 'wrong' and 'contradictory' picturization of Madhavikutty and justifying the forcible religious conversion would certainly inject a wrong message into the minds of audience, he added.
Aami is based on the autobiography of Kamala Surayya's 'Ente Katha' (My Story). She wrote under a pseudonym, Kamala Das, in English.
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