Deconstructing Stereotypes of Manipulation: A Critical Analysis of Muslims' Representation in "The Kerala Story"

Ideologies and discourses take a due share in framing the structure and functions of the societies. Various tools of mass communication like movies are employed to cast and shed different discourses to popularize them among the masses. This study takes ‘The Kerala Story’ (2023) and examines the representation of Muslims in the Bollywood film industry. This movie is selected as a case study through purposive sampling because of its ideological depiction of Muslims in various scenes and dialogues. Fairclough’s (2003) critical discourse analysis framework has been used to analyse the dialogues of this movie. Data was collected from online platform the Movie Box. The purpose of this study is to deconstruct the discourses presenting Muslims in the film and explore how different stereotypes and harmful misconceptions are made through this movie. The findings indicates the complex representation of Muslims in the film, reflecting negative stereotypes specially in the portrayal of manipulative figures of Muslims who forced non-Muslim Indian women to convert to Islam. The inciting dialogues of Muslim characters’ are deliberately designed to damage their identity and present them as extremists and terrorists. So, this research contributes to the understanding of societal attitudes towards minority communities specifically Muslims as in-depth analysis reveals that these are shaped through popular narratives.