'Mr and Mrs Bachelor' director alleges lead actress refused to promote film

Director Deepu Karunakaran has alleged that the lead actress of his latest film, 'Mr and Mrs Bachelor', has been uncooperative in promoting the project. Starring Anaswara Rajan and Indrajith in the lead roles, the film is gearing up for release. However, Deepu claims that despite multiple requests, the actress has refused to make even a single post about the film on Instagram. He expressed his confusion over her reluctance, especially since she had been fully cooperative during the shoot.

Speaking to Manorama Online, Deepu said, 'During the shoot, she was the most cooperative person. Even when the film faced hurdles, she stood by me, assuring me, "Sir, I’m with you, let’s finish this together." But when it came to promotions, her reluctance surprised me.'

He further explained that the film’s audio rights were sold to a company for Rs 10 lakh, with their primary focus being to generate reach for the songs on Instagram. 'When the songs were released, we requested her to promote them on her Instagram page, but she refused. The music company put immense pressure on me. When we reached out for promotions, her response was always vague—"Let’s see, maybe some other day."'

According to Deepu, four songs from the film have been released so far, but none have received proper Instagram promotions. 'The music company is concerned about social media reach. She has a Facebook account and a fan-handled page where the songs were shared, but she did not post anything on her official Instagram page. She has promoted other films on her page before, so I don’t understand why she is not doing it for this one. She has not even provided a clear explanation for her decision.'

He revealed that he had reached out multiple times to her mother and manager, even pleading with them. 'At one point, her mother told me, "Beyond a limit, I cannot interfere; it’s her decision." When I called her manager, they kept saying, "We will post soon… in five minutes… in ten minutes," but nothing happened. Eventually, the film’s hero, Indrajith, personally called her and told her, "This is not right, you should promote it, it’s our film." She simply acknowledged it and then hung up.'

Deepu added that the film’s release date will be finalised soon, after which another round of promotions will take place. 'Let’s see if she participates then. There’s no point in making this a controversy. Even now, she can post on Instagram and put an end to this issue. I didn’t want to take this to the media, but if needed, I can bring it up with the association, which would make it mandatory for her to participate in promotions. I haven’t done that yet because I wanted to wait until the promotion phase.'

Originally announced for release in August last year, 'Mr and Mrs Bachelor' was delayed due to unforeseen reasons. The director and the team are now working towards bringing the film to theatres this year. A source close to the actress told Onmanorama that she will be releasing a statement on the matter soon.