Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], August 2 (ANI): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday said that the great cultural heritage of Indian cinema was insulted by recognising 'The Kerala Story' in the 71st National Film Awards. He appealed to the artistic community of Kerala to unite against this 'unfortunate move.'

He termed the award to 'The Kerala Story', which 'defames Kerala society', as an acknowledgement of the 'cultural corruption that misuses films as a means to spread communal hatred.'

'While remembering the historical glory of Malayalam cinema, one more thing needs to be said. It is about the efforts that some people are currently making to destroy this glory. The National Film Awards were announced yesterday. A film that defames Kerala society is also among the winners,' Vijayan said while speaking at Film Policy Conclave here.

'It cannot be considered as an acknowledgement of art in any way. Rather, it can only be seen as an acknowledgement of the cultural corruption that misuses films as a means to spread communal hatred. A film that insults the secular tradition of Kerala and presents Kerala in a defamatory manner before the world has been accepted. This is extremely unfortunate,' he said.

The 71st National Film Awards jury has decided to award 'The Kerala Story' the Best Director and Best Cinematography awards.

The Chief Minister said that the message behind the award for the film is that art should be used to destroy the secularism of the country and replace it with communalism.

'The great cultural heritage of Indian cinema is also being insulted through this. We should think about why standards beyond art are used to evaluate art. The message behind this is that art should be used to destroy the secularism of our country and replace it with communalism,' he said.

'The cultural community of Kerala, especially the film community, should stand united against this unfortunate move. The entire film consciousness of Kerala needs to wake up against such a distorted portrayal of Kerala. We need to put an end to the destructive presentation of our culture, heritage and history,' the Chief Minister said.

He said that Malayalam cinema achieved greatness because it adhered to the soil, mind, humanity and secular way of life. That foundation was being attacked.

'This film, which got a National Award, is portraying Kerala in a bad light with fake constructions. We are now seeing the secular tradition of Kerala, which is known all over the world, becoming more and more evident at every stage. It is at such a stage that it is distorted and used to foster rivalry. Such trends should definitely be discussed in film circles,' he said. (ANI)