Adah Sharma‘s The Kerala Story caused a stir in the country upon its release. However, the movie is a thought-provoking, brutal, yet shocking account of religious terrorism.
Sudipto Sen directed the movie alongside Vipul Amrutlal Shah as the producer under Sunshine Pictures. It also stars Yogita Bihani, Sonia Balani, and Siddhi Idnani. The movie showcases a group of women from Kerala who are forced into converting to Islam and joining the Islamic State.
The Kerala Story had its theatrical release on May 5, 2023, and was the ninth-highest-grossing Hindi film of 2023. It also faced protracted litigation and protests, mainly in Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
Check out the trailer for the movie:
The Kerala Story Ending: What happened to Shalini at the base camp?
In The Kerala Story, Shalini finds herself placed in a base camp. Shalini, along with other women, experienced sexual assault and rape by the men at the camp. The suicide bomber trainees forced the women to engage in the activity.
So Shalini decided to escape along with two other women. She had planned on going to the Iranian border alone, as she was sure that she would find UN troops and soldiers there. Shalini had hopes that those people would help her and the other women return to their families in their home countries.
Was Shalini able to escape the last base camp?
When Shalini, along with the two women, were trying to escape, the Afghani soldiers caught them. The two women were shot but Shalini ran away. She ran as far as she could but eventually passed out.
Several hours after her escape, the UN troops found Shalini in the desert and arrested her as a terrorist. She claimed that she was not a threat and shared her story with the military officers. She informed them about Asifa’s brainwashing, the changed identities and illegal immigration to Syria.
Unfortunately, the UN troops told her that she was considered a terrorist in India and would not be allowed back into the country. Shalini would have to spend the rest of her life in the UN prison facility as a convicted terrorist. However, she was permitted to make one last call to her mother in Kerala.
Does Shalini return to Kerala?
Towards the end of The Kerala Story, Shalini called her mother and apologized. She asked her mother to stop worrying and promised to return to India with her daughter. She tried to overcome the Islamic indoctrination that had brainwashed her and finally called herself by her birth name, Shalini Unnikrishnan.
After a while, Shalini finally reunited with her daughter, but her return to Kerala remained uncertain. Meanwhile, Asifa continued her mission and targeted the next group of girls arriving at her hostel in Kerala. Several other women from many different countries were also in the UN prison facility with Shalini, waiting for justice. The Kerala Story ended with testimonies from the real Geetanjali Menon’s parents and the real Nimah Mathew, who now live anonymously in Kerala.
The Kerala Story will soon be available to stream on ZEE5.
