Mumbai, May 18 (IANS): Filmmaker Sudipto Sen introduced the real inspiration for his controversial movie, 'The Kerala Story', at a press in Mumbai on Wednesday evening.

A highlight of the press conference was an interaction with the young women who had escaped religious conversion in Kerala and were being looked after by the Aarsha Vidya Samajam Ashram. Sen said these young women had inspired him to make the film.

"Their number is too many in our country, but few of them are with us today here, and I want to honour them all," Sen said.

"Let me share with you a little incident," Sen continued. "I want to share this incident because without knowing it you probably wouldn't know where the roots of this film are.

"I will introduce Shruti, Chitra and Adhira. The first time I met Shruti in a small village she didn't have electricity in her house, because they had cut off the supply. And every time she would go out to purchase vegetables, people would snatch away her bag. I had to interview them through a small little partition in their house because they were scared to come out."

Sen went on to note: "People have misused these girls and forced them into a life of desolation, and that was my inspiration to make this film."

And he added passionately: "This is not a day for me, this is the day these girls will be heard. Please treat them with compassion when you talk about them."

The film's producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah, Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Sonai Balani and Siddhi Idnani were also present during the press meet.

The film was theatrically released on May 5 and it has since then become the third highest-grossing Hindi film of the year, collecting Rs 192.3 crore from the box office.