Woman whose photo appeared without consent in Mohanlal's 'Oppam' gets justice after 7 years

The Chalakkudy Munsif Court has ordered producer Antony Perumbavoor to pay a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to Princy Francis for using her photo in a defamatory manner, without her consent, in a scene in the movie 'Oppam.' Advocate P Narayanankutty had filed the suit for Princy who works as a teacher at the MES Asmabi College in Kodungallur. Chalakkudy Munsif MS Shiny ordered the producer to pay Rs 1 lakh as compensation and Rs 1,68,000 towards court expenses. 

Princy and her husband Saji Joseph told at a press meet that they had decided to take the legal route as part of their social commitment and desire to secure justice for the common woman. “I lost seven years and Rs 2 lakh when I decided to fight this case. The court has now ordered a compensation. There is a reason why I have called this presser. Although we say that a woman enjoys protection by the law, I had to visit the court every month for the last eight years and had spent Rs 2 lakh. I am here to ask the society what privilege does a woman have. Despite using my photo in the film without my consent, they do not consider it a serious offence. All of us are aware about the problems faced by the makers of 'Empuraan.'

They were able to edit out certain scenes, even though it shortened the movie only by two minutes. All we asked them was to blur my photo. But, they argued that it wasn’t my picture. Now, the court has directed them to remove my photo from the movie,” Princy told Manorama News.

According to Princy, her picture appears in a crime file in the 29th minute of the film. She is depicted as a woman who was cruelly murdered.

The complainant claimed that her photo was taken from her blog without her consent. This incident led to severe mental stress to the complainant and she approached the court in 2017. 

The complainant also sent a notice to assistant director Mohandas, Antony Perumbavoor, and Priyadarshan. Although the makers were urged to remove the scene in which the complainant’s photo is shown, they had refused to do so. Princy’s photo is still used in the scene in 'Oppam.'