New Delhi: Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding ‘The Kerala Story 2’, producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah and director Kamakhya Narayan Singh held a press conference in Delhi where they introduced over 30 real victims of forced conversion.
“I often hear people say that love jihad and forced conversions are not happening in India. So we have brought together victims from all over the country,” the producer said.
During the press meet, the alleged victims of forced religious conversions, who had come from Bengal, Bihar, Bhilwada, Gangapur, Rajkot, Udaipur, Jammu, Maharashtra, Bhopal, Jharkhand, Faridabad, Meerut, Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon and Indore, spoke about their experiences and detailed their fight against injustices against them.
Shooter Tara Shahdeo, one of the survivors from Ranchi, shared how she was tricked into marrying a man who first posed as Ranjit Kohil, but later revealed his identity as Rakibul Hasan.
After escaping from his clutches, Tara filed a case against him in October 2023, and the fraudster was sentenced to jail along with his mother.
“Kahaniaya aur bhi bohot hai. Aur bhi bohot baatein hai. Hum aap logo ko inki zubani sunana chahte the. Jitne log bhi humein propaganda bolte hai, hum inhi logo ke saath khade rahenge. Chaahe jitni gaali aap dein mujhe. Problem pehchanenge nahi to solution aayega nahi (There are many more stories. There is so much more to say. We wanted you to hear it directly from them. To those who call us propaganda, we will continue to stand with these people. No matter how much you abuse me. If we do not recognise the problem, there can be no solution),” said the producer.
Director Kamakhya added, “Aisi jitni hazaaro ladkiya hai, jinhe lagta hai ki hum helpless hai. Hum sabke saath khade hai (There are thousands of girls like this who feel that they are helpless. We stand with all of them).”
‘The Kerala Story 2 Goes Beyond’ features Aishwarya Ojha, Ulka Gupta and Aditi Bhatia.
