The makers of the Mollywood movie 'Turkish Tharkkam' find themselves in the middle of a storm after multiple Malayalam artists went public with statements contradicting their claims.
Hours after the makers of 'Turkish Tharkkam' claimed that they were withdrawing the movie from theatres after being accused of heresy from some quarters, popular Malayalam actors Sunny Wayne and Lukman Avaran, who were part of the movie, distanced themselves from the claim. Apart from clarifying that neither of them has received any threats for being part of the project, the two artists went on to add that they were not satisfied by the clarification given by the movie's producer when they reached out to learn about the sequence of events that led to the withdrawal of the movie from the theatres. They also demanded a probe to bring out the truth behind the development.
Director Navaz Suleiman and producer Nadir Khalid had earlier claimed that they were being targeted by certain quarters due to a misconception about their movie. They had said that the movie, initially released on November 22, would be re-released after removing the portions that "offended" a certain religion.
Social media storm and doubts
The development resulted in a row on social media as a section called the whole incident staged for the promotion of the movie. 'Turkish Tharkkam' failed to attract the crowd and now the makers were trying to play the victim card in the hope of getting the people to watch the movie or win a hefty OTT deal, they alleged.
Congress leader and former MLA VT Balram on Thursday morning took to social media to share his concerns about the claim. He started by saying that he wasn't aware that a movie by the name 'Turkish Tharkkam' had been released. He pointed out that he couldn't spot a single post on social media criticizing or threatening the movie.
"It is reasonable to suspect that this row involving blasphemy controversy, intimidation and withdrawal was intentionally created to save a movie that might flop in theaters or has already flopped. If so, it is a serious matter -- unethical and an extremely dangerous trend. Islamophobia has a good market in India and the world. In recent times its market value has increasing in Kerala as well... This country cannot afford filmmakers also taking this as an opportunity for commercial benefits," VT Balram's post said.
Actors clarify their stand
Later, actor Sunny Wayne also posted on Facebook saying that he has not faced any threats for his role in 'Turkish Tharkkam.' "When I asked the producer about the circumstances leading to the film's withdrawal, I did not get a clear response. In fact, I came to know about the film's withdrawal only through social media. No matter what, such unfortunate situations should have been avoided," his post read.
"The shooting of the film started two and a half years ago. As far as I know, it was a joint decision of the producer and the director to pull the film from the theaters after release. As an actor who was part of the project, when I inquired about the reason for its withdrawal, I did not get a clear answer from the concerned people. I am not aware of any threat to me or anyone known to me for featuring in this film. My position is that if there is any malicious intent behind the ongoing controversy related to this film, it should be investigated," Lukman Avaran said in a similar post.
More questions await makers of 'Turkish Tharkkam'?
Meanwhile, the Malayalam Producers' Association decided to seek an explanation from Nadir Khalid on the circumstances that led to the movie's withdrawal.
