A Hindu influencer from Kerala, Athulya Ashokan made the headlines in the backdrop of the release of the film Kerala Story. Athulya is 23 years old and has about 520k followers on her Instagram.

The viral buzz around her wedding stemmed from the noticeable shift in Athulya’s appearance – a transition from her customary posts featuring traditional attire with bindi, holy ash, and kumkum to suddenly embracing a hijab following her marriage to a Muslim man.

In a social media update, Athulya revealed her marital status and announced her wedding with Risal Mansoor.

The buzz around the wedding was not solely because it was an inter-religious wedding but because Athulya had converted to Islam and changed her name to Alia. This was confirmed through her Instagram stories of her wedding which displayed the bames of the bride and groom as Alia & Mansoor.

Furthermore, the pictures of the wedding shared on Athulya’s Instagram account, portrayed the festivities surrounded by female guests donning hijabs. This prompted her fans and followers to ponder whether she had indeed undergone a religious conversion.

Meanwhile, Athulya Ashokan’s marriage sparked discussions amid the release of “The Kerala Story,” a film depicting the narrative of women from Kerala converting to Islam and joining the extremist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). As Athulya shared pictures from her nikah, the comments section speculated on the love story having a “love jihad” angle, suggesting a connection to “The Kerala Story.”

Athulya’s case gained traction on Twitter, with users using it as an example to support the film and its concept. A Twitter user stated, “People who think #TheKeralaStory is a myth, here is a live example for you. Meet Athulya Ashokan from Kerala, who is now Alia after converting to Islam.”

Another tweet emphasized, “For those claiming that ‘The Kerala Story’ is a fabricated tale, please take a look at Athulya Ashokan (5 lakhs+ followers). Her wedding pictures showcase a diverse group of friends, indicating the multicultural aspect of her life.”

Several netizens warned her and pointed out that she was in fact reliving the Kerala Story premise. 

Cut to November 2023, a now-deleted story shared by Athulya (a) Alia caught the attention of netizens. She shared a worrying message indicating a potential threat to her life. In the story, she tagged her Muslim husband, stating, “Whatever happens to me, no one in my family is responsible. Only him @marz___12 (Risal Mansoor).”

Diligent followers of Athulya were quick to notice the message, captured screenshots, and shared them across diverse social media platforms. Captioning the post with “The Kerala Story Is Real,” they brought attention to Athulya’s concerning Instagram story, sparking questions about her well-being. Netizens, deeply concerned, called for a thorough investigation by the Kerala Police into this serious matter.

It was also noted that Athulya had deleted or archived photos from her wedding and moments spent with her husband, fuelling speculations about the fate of her inter-religious marriage.

While specific details of Risal Mansoor, Athulya’s husband are unknown, his Instagram profile hints at him being a mechanical engineer and a passionate football enthusiast. His bio mentions that he is a “transporter”, originating from Perumbavoor in Kerala.

Latest update

In an Instagram post made earlier today, Athulya wrote, “Here it goes… For the past 7 mnths i have been seeing all those posts about our marriage… First of all, the movie ‘KERALA STORY’ has nothing to do with it… We met in our hometown, we talked, we met again and fell in love… None of our friends knew this till our marriage. It was a total surprise for everyone. The pictures you were using to make all those cooked up stories are of my high school friends. We don’t even have day-to-day conversations. Like every others we meet once in a while on any functions or reunions. So its time to stop spreading their images.”

The post continues in the second image, “Don’t try to make it about a particular community. Thats shame | Its only about me and him. We were separated for the past one month and emotionally I was too weak. Even if I did something wrong I never wanted my family to suffer anymore. Now I am getting better and I am completely safe. Don’t try to make it a COMMUNAL WAR|”

Whether she is safe or not is a separate question, this incident makes us ponder over the larger issue at hand – Love Jihad and the fact that more and more Hindu girls are falling into this trap. They can deny that all is well until they see the real face of their “love”. Somehow they think it is cool to have an Abdul for a boyfriend and most of us cannot wrap our heads around why our Hindu girls find them exciting and enticing. At the end of the day, we only wish the girls are safe and happy.