Exclusive: Sudipto Sen Reacts To Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's Criticising The Kerala Story For Winning Two National Awards

The winners of the 71st National Film Awards were announced on Friday. Sudipto Sen won the Best Director award for The Kerala Story. The film was also honoured in the Best Cinematography category. In an exclusive interview with NDTV, the filmmaker shared his reaction to the win.

Sudipto said, "It was an arduous journey of like 10-12 years as my team and I worked on this subject. We worked on this film in many adverse situations, and finally, the film was made and released in 2023. When it released, according to the box office numbers, more than 5 crore people saw the film in theatres. The OTT numbers are more than 20 crore."

He continued, "If you consider the recognition, yes, millions of Indians and people from all over the world have watched the film and their blessing and their love are always with us. We had already been awarded by the people. But the national award, it is the biggest award of the nation, when it comes, indeed it is a very surreal feeling definitely."

Sudipto Sen also reacted to the criticism his film got from Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan regarding its National Award win. The filmmaker said, "Pinarayi sir is a seasoned politician with years of experience. I am not a politician and I am not entitled to comment on his comments. But the matter of the fact is that his senior, VS Achuthanandan, who just passed away, I believe his soul will be very happy that we made a film on his comment that 'Kerala is going the way of the ISIS' and on his comment that 'Kerala will be turned into an Islamic state'. We have the record of that time when Vs sichuanandan made that comment." 

"Pinarayi, who was his deputy at the time, supported him when VS Achuthanandan was getting criticism from many places. So, I don't know when politicians speak, nobody should speak in response to that because politics is their way of life, what they do for their own living and survival. I am not a politician, I am a filmmaker. I know I worked hard, my team worked hard for 10-12 years. I stand by every word spoken in my film, every visual shown in the film. After 2 months of scrutiny censor board approved every scene of my film. Not a single cut has been inflicted on the film. I think our conviction is being vindicated," Sudipto Sen concluded.

Pinarayi Vijayan criticised The Kerala Story's National Award win. The CM stated that he was "gravely insulted" by the jury's decision to honour a film that misrepresents Kerala and promotes communal discord. In a post shared on X, he wrote, "By honouring a film that spreads blatant misinformation with the clear intent of tarnishing Kerala's image and sowing seeds of communal hatred, the jury of the #NationalFilmAwards has lent legitimacy to a narrative rooted in the divisive ideology of the Sangh Parivar." 

He added, "Kerala, a land that has always stood as a beacon of harmony and resistance against communal forces, has been gravely insulted by this decision. It is not just Malayalis, but everyone who believes in democracy, must raise their voice in defence of truth and the constitutional values we hold dear." 

By honouring a film that spreads blatant misinformation with the clear intent of tarnishing Kerala's image and sowing seeds of communal hatred, the jury of the #NationalFilmAwards has lent legitimacy to a narrative rooted in the divisive ideology of the Sangh Parivar. Kerala, a…— Pinarayi Vijayan (@pinarayivijayan) August 1, 2025

The Kerala Story is currently streaming on Zee5.