Veteran Malayalam actor-director Balachandra Menon accused a female actor and her lawyer of threatening him with bogus sexual assault allegations. The 70-year-old Mollywood icon filed a complaint against the duo with the Kerala DGP and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday.
In light of the release of the Hema Committee report, several Malayalam movie artists were accused of sexual misconduct by their female colleagues. A woman had accused Balachandra Menon of similar offences in a Facebook post recently. It is the same actor against whom the National Award winner has now filed the complaint. Menon claimed that the social media post naming him was published on September 14, Saturday, a day after he received the call from the advocate.
What did Balachandra Menon say?
According to Menon, ahead of the female artist accusing him of misconduct via Facebook, her lawyer had made contact. Calling on the personal number of Balachandra Menon's wife, the lawyer threatened him, the actor alleged.
"Her lawyer threatened me over the phone that three allegations of sexual misconduct would be made against me very soon. He called me on my wife's number on September 13. The following day, the actor made a Facebook post against me," Balachandra Menon was quoted as saying in the complaint by Manorama Online.
The director of noted films like 'Kuruppinte Kanakku Pustakom', 'Ammayane Sathyam' and 'Arante Mulla Kochu Mulla' included the call details in his complaints, the daily added.
Mollywood #MeToo movement
Multiple FIRs have been registered against several high-profile Malayalam film personalities following allegations of sexual harassment against various directors and actors, sparked by revelations in the Justice K Hema Committee report. The list includes two-time MLA Mukesh, senior actor Siddique, Jayasurya and director Ranjith, among others.