(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Congress leader Dr Shashi Tharoor yesterday strongly came out in support of award-winning actor Parvathy, a victim of cyberbullying by fans of superstar Mammootty for her critical comments.
Parvathy had on Sunday registered a police complaint following which the cops arrested one of the bullies identified as Printo from Wadakkanchery in Thrissur district yesterday.
Parvathy had at a film festival early this month criticised the misogynistic portrayal of characters in Malayalam cinema, citing the example of Mammootty's recent film Kasaba.
'I haven't see the film, but I strongly support (Parvathy's) right to express her views on misogyny on our cinema screens without being subjected to rape and death threats, the Congress lawmaker and author tweeted.
'I call on senior male actors in the Malayalam film industry to stand by her and start a public debate on the issue.
While participating in a face-to-face programme with women filmmakers and actors at the International Film Festival of Kerala, Parvathy had said she was disappointed to watch Mammootty delivering such misogynistic dialogues.
'Kasaba was a movie which I unfortunately watched... I was definitely disappointed to watch an actor par excellence, who happened to say certain dialogues which were not only derogatory but also most saddening to a woman in a scene, she said.
Thrashing the filmmaker's defence that it reflected the society around, she said 'that's true. But a line has to be drawn between reflecting reality, and glorifying it.
Her comments opened the floodgate of abuse and threats. Besides character assassination, some even threatened acid attack and rape.
Even film personalities like actor-director Jude Antony Joseph and director Vyasan K P targeted her for criticism against the 66-year-old superstar. But others kept silent.
Tharoor is the first prominent leader to openly back her after Finance Minister Thomas Isaac described her as an incredible actor.
'Thank you for the support, sir! We need this dialogue to be sustained! Parvathy, the first Malayalam actor to win the prestigious silver peacock honour at the International Film Festival of India, tweeted in reply.
Meanwhile, the police arrested the 23-year-old man on charges of intimidating the star and sexual abuse under the Section 67 of the Information Technology Act.
Inspector Sibi Tom who is heading the investigation said they would not spare anybody found indulging in similar abuse against the actor.
'She has given us a bunch of URLs of social media posts which we are tracking, he said. 'We have asked Twitter and Facebook for more information about these handles.
The 30-year-old has won several awards for best actor in Tamil and Malayalam, including the best actor at the Kerala State Film Awards in 2015, during her career spanning a decade.
She is also part of Women Collective in Cinema, a pressure group against exploitation launched by filmmakers, actors and technicians early this year.
She made her Bollywood debut this year with a hit film, Qarib Qarib Singlle, opposite Irrfan Khan and is currently working on multiple projects including Prithviraj's My Story.
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