Video of crowd in cinema hall vowing to boycott Muslims after ‘Kerala Story 2’ screening draws flak

APicture supposedly showing people in a picture palace marguerite radclyffe hall pledging to boycott Muslims socially and economically has gone viral on societal media. While a Congress MP claimed that the clip was from Palghar in Maharashtra, police are reportedly still identifying where it was shot.Also read: Long-running border conflict, Op Ghazab lil Haq, Kabul hospital strike: A timeline of Pakistan-Afghanistan clashesThe clip shows a group of people on the stage making the pledge to boycott while others in the hall follow them.Congress Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain shared the video on his X handle and said the alleged incident took place on March 10 at a movie hall in Vasai, Palghar after a free screening of the film The Kerala Story 2.“The continued encouragement of propaganda-driven narratives under the BJP government has increasingly targeted Muslims and deepened communal polarisation. When cinema is deployed as a political instrument to stigmatise an entire community, it risks turning prejudice into organised discrimination and further emboldening anti-Muslim sentiment,” Hussain wrote on X.HT could not independently verify the veracity of the video "We are not sure where it was shot and believe it could be mischief by some unscrupulous elements," a senior police official from the Mira-Bhayandar Vasai-Virar (MBVV) Police Commissionerate was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.Also read: Remove content linking Hardeep Puri’s daughter to Jeffrey Epstein: Delhi HCIn the video, the crowd can be heard raising ‘Jai Sri Ram’ slogans and taking an ‘oath’ to not deal with Muslims for their daily needs such as buying vegetables, getting haircut done, etc. "We take an oath that we will only do business with the Hindus.The Kerala Story was released in 2023 and its sequel was released last month and both the movies have been criticised for being provocative and promoting divisive narratives. The two films have been at heart of an intense political and cultural debate amid its depiction of forced religious conversions across various parts of India. The makers say that, like the first part, the film is based on true cases. The first film, released in 2023, also battled legal cases and calls for a ban over allegations of creating a communal divide.Also read: Ghaziabad bank manager shot dead by security guard after altercation on leaveEarlier, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi alsocited the controversial film as he criticised the use of cinema and media for political propaganda during an interaction with students of Marian College in Idukki, Kerala. He said that films and media should unite rather than divide society.Sharing a video of his interaction with students of Marian College in Idukki, Kerala, on social media, Gandhi said cinema and media were increasingly being "weaponised" to vilify communities and create social divisions.Responding to the question, Gandhi said that the public understands the social and cultural fabric of Kerala. "'The Kerala Story's' hall seems to be empty, and nobody's really watching it. And it shows you that there are people, the majority of this country, have an understanding of what Kerala is and Kerala's traditions and cultures," Gandhi said.