Director Sanal Kumar Sasidharan Detained At Mumbai Airport For Alleged Harassment Of Manju Warrier

Mumbai: Malayalam director Sanal Kumar Sasidharan was detained on Sunday, September 7 at Mumbai airport after a lookout notice was issued by the Kerala Police in connection with a harassment case filed by actress Manju Warrier. Officers from the Elamakkara police station are scheduled to escort Sasidharan to Kerala by train, arriving tomorrow morning, after which he will be taken to Elamakkara for further legal proceedings. Sanal Kumar Sasidharan, in a detailed Facebook post, questioned the procedures followed by the police, stating that the case, originally filed in 2022, has not been investigated properly. He claimed that Manju Warrier's statement has not been recorded, no arrest warrant or charge sheet has been issued, yet a lookout notice was issued against him. He further alleged that the case was an attempt to suppress issues he had raised regarding Warrier's safety.

“This case was filed after I released an audio clip last December in which Manju Warrier mentioned threats to her and her daughter's lives. Initial attempts were made to suppress it. When it became public, a case was filed against me. Manju Warrier didn't give a statement in that case either. Instead, the police claimed that a statement she gave in another court, alleging threats to her life, was against me,” Sasidharan wrote.

What is the Dispute About?

The dispute between Sanal Kumar Sasidharan and Manju Warrier stems from their collaboration on the film Kayattam, shot in the Himalayas in 2019. Following the film's completion, Sasidharan claimed that Warrier's life was under threat and that external influences were preventing the film's release. In response to these challenges, he released Kayattam online for free in 2025, citing a lack of support for its theatrical release. In January 2025, Warrier filed a harassment complaint against Sasidharan, accusing him of stalking and defamation via social media, leading to the current case under sections of the Indian Penal Code, including stalking and criminal intimidation. Sasidharan was previously arrested in May 2022 in a related complaint but was later released on bail.

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