Saddened by cyberattacks on Nimisha Sajayan: Gokul Suresh

Actor Gokul Suresh, son of Suresh Gopi who scripted history for the BJP by winning its maiden Lok Sabha seat in Thrissur, has reacted to the vitriolic cyberattack on fellow actor Nimisha Sajayan. She became the target of a barrage of trolls after some people on social media platforms ferreted out a comment she made against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in 2019.
Without naming the actor, Gokul said he was saddened by what she said then and by the cyberattacks against her now. When she made that statement four years ago, she never thought that she was referring to a senior male colleague in the Malayalam film industry, he noted while interacting with media.

It may be noted that during a protest rally against CAA four years ago, Nimisha had said, “We didn’t give Thrissur to them when they asked. And now they are asking us to give India. We won’t give.” The actor made the statement mocking Suresh Gopi’s catchphrase, “Thrissur enikkku venam. Thrissur enikku tharanam, Thrissur njan edukuva.” (I want Thrissur. You should give me Thrissur. I am taking Thrissur).
Reacting to the brouhaha on social media, Gokul said, “It has been a long time since she made the statement. While making that comment, she never thought that she was referring to a senior artist in the same field. Now, it might have become a setback for her. I am saddened by what she is going through right now. I was also personally grieving when she made the statement then.”

He also touched upon the trolls that were mounted against his father Suresh Gopi. “Even if my father lost in the elections, I would not be sad. So there is no space to be sad when he won. People standing before me holding cameras or those in the higher echelons of media houses tried to tarnish the image of my father. It’s a great achievement on the part of my father to clear all hurdles and scale new heights. It doesn’t matter whether he becomes a central minister or not. Either way, it is good. My father will do a lot of things even if he isn’t a central minister. The hankering you show to report when something bad happens or a blunder is committed should be shown when something good happens,” he averred.

“People who stand before me with cameras are those who encourage negative comments the most. The content of a channel is culled in bits and pieces and videos are made out of them by other channels. After that Suresh Gopi is torn apart and verbally abused by flashing appropriate headlines. At that time, people who gave the original content wouldn’t come forward to give a clarification on what Suresh Gopi said. There is a clear indication that many media houses have such spineless characteristics. We know that the way out is to traverse through this terrain,” Gokul added.

“Social media was also at the forefront of showering abuse on Suresh Gopi. Though there were well-wishers, their number was minuscule. More people were steadfast in verbally abusing Suresh Gopi, and probably that might be their agenda. As Suresh Gopi has tasted success, the channels that had once turned against him might support him now. If the media houses try to tarnish someone, they will continue with their efforts. And the reality is that if that person overcomes all challenges and emerges unscathed, the same media will give all encouragement to the person in question. We are indeed living in a fake reality,” he concluded.