Bengal became the first state in the country to officially ban ‘The Kerala Story’ after chief minister Mamata Banerjee slammed the controversial movie for portraying “distorted stories”.

The ban was announced shortly after Banerjee lashed out at the BJP on Monday for “promoting false narratives to defame particular communities”.

“Why (make) ‘The Kashmir Files’? to humiliate one section (of people). What’s this Kerala Story? I am not supporting the CPI-M party, they are working with the BJP. I am talking about the people of Kerala. Instead of me, it was their duty to criticize the movie. I am sorry to say this but I will tell the Kerala CM that it's sad that your party is working with the BJP and it is the BJP which is showing these distorted stories,” the chief minister said at Nabanna, the state secretariat.

A communication from the state Information and Cultural Affairs department read: “The government has decided to impose a ban on the film ‘The Kerala Story’ for the sake of maintenance of peace and harmony in the state. The government apprehends a threat to law and order in the state on account of the visuals which have been depicted in the film and hence it has decided to ban the screening of this movie in theatres of Calcutta and elsewhere in the state. The step has been taken to maintain peace in the state.”

Legal action would be taken against any theatre found showing the film, an official at Nabanna said.

The Mamata Banerjee-government move came after the Tamil Nadu Multiplex Association announced its decision to halt screening of the movie in the state citing law and order issues amid some protests and low audience turnout.

Directed by Sudipto Sen, ‘The Kerala Story’ claims to portray the story of some women from the state who were converted to Islam and recruited by terror outfit Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). In the movie actress Adah Sharma plays the role of a Hindu Malayali nurse who went missing from Kerala and was then recruited to ISIS after being forced to convert to Islam. The film also highlights 'Love Jihad' propaganda which claimsMuslim men manipulate Hindu girls to convert to Islam and abandon their families.

While the film initially claimed that it was the story of “more than 32,000 Kerala women who had been radicalized by Islamic fundamentalists”, it quickly changed that number to just three. The movie has been the subject of fierce online debate and criticism with strong objections raised by many political leaders who have termed it to be a poorly made propaganda film.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had also called the film out for being nothing but a clutch of blatant lies, and said that at first glance, the film appears to peddle lies aimed at creating communal polarization and spreading hate propaganda against the state.

Speaking at Nabanna, Mamata Banerjee claimed to be privy to information that a similar plot is being planned for Bengal as well. “A few days ago some movie stars, funded by the BJP, came to Bengal. They are making a movie from distorted and concocted events and will call it 'The Bengal Files'. They disrespected the Kashimiri people before and now they are disrespecting the people of Kerala. They will use their narratives to defame Bengal as well,” she said.

Meanwhile, the BJP reacted sharply to Banerjee’s decision of the censor and threatened to move court against it. “Their (opposition) face is getting exposed, they're doing appeasement and vote bank politics. By banning the film (The Kerala Story), West Bengal is committing injustice. Recently only, a girl was raped & murdered in Bengal...what are you ( Mamata Banerjee) getting by standing up for such terrorists..," Union Information and Broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur told news agency ANI.

“As an ordinary citizen of India, it's my every right to choose to watch a movie that has not been banned by the Hon'ble Supreme Court- the highest court of the land. The government has no right to stop me from watching a movie duly passed by the Censor Board and refused to be stopped for screening by the Hon'ble Courts,” tweeted Indranil Khan, president of the BJP youth wing in Bengal.

“I will move to the Hon'ble Court seeking justice against such blatant violation of freedom of speech and expression enshrined in Article 19 of the Indian Constitution,” he added.