Kerala Minister Saji Cherian has responded to the allegations on Malayalam director Ranjith made by Bengali actress Sreelekha Mitra on Friday. She has filed a complaint against Ranjith and narrated how he made advances towards him during a meeting. Saji Cherian defended Ranjith, describing him as a highly respected artist. The minister also claimed that they will only take action against him if a formal complaint is registered. He also mentioned that it is not right to penalise an acclaimed director like Ranjith based on allegations alone; he believes that there is no question of Ranjith stepping down from his position as chairman of the Kerala State Film Academy.
Recalling an incident that took place at Kochi in 2009, Sreelekha Mitra claimed that after inviting her to act in the Malayalam movie Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathin Katha, the director touched her in an inappropriate manner. She also mentioned that Ranjith was trying to play with her hair. This action led her to withdraw from the project and leave immediately. The oppositions including the State Congress president K Sudhakaran and several others are demanding Ranjith’s removal from his position due to these allegations. With the TV channels going to town with this, Ranjith directly denied the allegation.
Ranjith claimed that Sreelekha Mitra had been called in for an audition for Paleri Manikyam, not to act in the film. He said her performance was not that good and aside from offering her a cigarette there was no close interaction between them. Ranjith also suggested that in this controversy he is the victim and she is the hunter. If she pursues legal action, he will also confront it accordingly.
Health Minister Veena George on Saturday requested Sreelekha to come forward with her complaint and assured her that the Kerala government will provide all the necessary support she needs. She also added that no one who has committed wrongdoing will be protected.
The issue of Ranjith was sustained at a time when the Malayalam film industry was under a cloud after the Hemma Committee report; it was made available early this week almost five years after it was received by the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The issue has now taken a political colour as the congress-led opposition slammed the Vijayan government for protecting the guilty.
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