Kozhikode mall incident: Film fraternity stands behind actors, calls for culprits' punishment

Standing firmly behind the two woman actors who were assaulted at a Kozhikode mall during the promotion of the movie on Tuesday, members of the film fraternity called for the punishment of the culprits.

Young actors were assaulted in Kozhikode during the promotion of their upcoming movie 'Saturday Night'. Reacting to the incident, many from the industry pointed out other occasions when actors were harmed by the unruly crowd.

Director Bilahari said perpetrators' faces should be uncovered before the public since such crimes are committed in front of hundreds of cameras. Transgender actress Sheetal Shyam also revealed a similar experience she had gone through in Kozhikode.

Taking to Facebook, Bilahari said it does not look like a solo incident. On viewing videos and posts of the incident, it doesn't seem to be a solo experience. More women in that crowd must have suffered such misdeeds, he wrote.

“Crimes of this kind are being staged in front of cameras at a time when thousands of offences, relating to subjects like consent, privacy and so on - including the matter that if anyone says 'no,' be it one's wife , it's a 'no' - are being exposed,” he wrote.

The director of the movie 'Kudukku 2025' maintained that such criminals should be brought to justice.

Sheetal Shyam, recalled a similar experience when she went to attend a programme at S K Pottakkad Hall in Kozhikode and said she too had slapped the offender. She cited another incident that happened on a beach during the filming of the movie 'Ka Bodyscapes' by Jayan Cheriyan.

Actor Aryan criticised those who said the actresses have to be blamed because 'they ventured into a crowd full of men.'

“I have only one thing to tell those who make such observations. There is no difference between you and those people who see it as an opportunity when they see a woman alone in a crowd,” he wrote.

He said the offenders must be brought to justice. The actor pointed out the audacity of the culprits who were well aware of the presence of so many cameras around them. “That courage is a challenge to the judicial system of the land,” he wrote.