Activists of Puthila Parivara have alleged that they received threatening phone calls from abroad aimed at stopping the free screening of the film The Kerala Story 2, which was planned in Puttur. The organizers claim the calls contained abusive language and warnings intended to prevent the event from taking place.
As per reports from Headline Karnataka, the screening was scheduled at GL One Mall in Puttur, where the organization had arranged a special free show of the film for college girls aged between 16 and 22. According to the organizers, three shows were planned on Thursday evening, and the initiative had received support from leaders of the BJP and other Hindu organizations in the region.
However, the event soon became controversial after several messages began circulating widely on social media. Some of the viral messages allegedly called for a boycott of the mall, while others warned members of the Islamic community not to visit the mall. There were also posts urging Muslim women to avoid the location, which quickly triggered heated discussions online.
Speaking to the media, Arun Kumar Puthila, a representative of Puthila Parivar, stated that the free screening of The Kerala Story 2 was organized to raise awareness among young women about issues such as love jihad and religious conversion portrayed in the film. Posters promoting the event were circulated, and phone numbers of women volunteers from the organization were included for ticket booking.
According to Puthila, those contact numbers were subsequently targeted by unknown callers from abroad who allegedly abused the volunteers and issued threats in an attempt to intimidate them and disrupt the event. He further claimed that certain local extremist elements also made threatening calls regarding the screening.
Puthila demanded that the police take immediate cognizance of the threats and investigate the matter thoroughly. He asserted that such intimidation would not deter the organization and that awareness campaigns would continue despite the pressure. “We will not bow to threats. Our efforts to raise awareness will continue,” he said.
The purpose behind organizing the screening of The Kerala Story was not merely to show a film but to spark awareness and discussion among young Hindu girls about a deeply debated and sensitive issue of love jihad. Supporters of the film argue that it portrays how minor Hindu girls can be targeted through Islamic emotional manipulation, deceptive relationships, and ideological indoctrination, eventually pushing them to Islamic conversion.
Islamist radical conversion networks are often alleged to target Hindu women through a series of coercive tactics that begin with deception and emotional manipulation. In many reported cases, the process is said to start with fake identities or romantic relationships, gradually leading to control, blackmail, and even physical assault. Victims may then be pressured to abandon their faith and convert, sometimes even after marriage. There have also been multiple reports that women are forced to recite the Kalma, adopt Islamic practices, and consume beef against their will as part of the conversion process. Such incidents, according to activists and several reports over the years, are not isolated events but reflect patterns that critics claim have been employed repeatedly for many years.
The efforts of Puthila Parivara in organizing such awareness initiatives should be appreciated. At the same time, the police must take the threat calls seriously and conduct a thorough investigation to identify those responsible.
