For the past few days, Malayalam cinema has hogged the headlines in Kerala for all the wrong reasons.
First came the arrest of actor Shine Tom Chacko (in the picture) and three girls, including an assistant director for allegedly using cocaine.
This was followed by the public outcry over Mohanlal being paid Rs 1.6 crore for his music show Lalisom at the inaugural ceremony of the National Games in Thiruvananthapuram.
Mohanlal repaid the money but the issue is far from over.
The debate now is whether the organisers are trying to put the blame on Mohanlal, when there are allegations regarding other unanswered expenditure.
The ‘cocaine case’ is currently the subject of a police inquiry. But rumours are rife in the media of the involvement of certain other actors and technicians. There seems to be a deliberate attempt to portray the whole new generation in Malayalam films as drug addicts.
Filmmaker Aashiq Abu has strongly condemned the spreading of such gossip after being targeted by a section of the media.
“There is a report in a daily that the Kerala police has asked for permission to question Rima, Fahadh Faasil and me in connection with the cocaine case. Such doubts were cleared when several media persons called up the police and they denied such a move. We are planning to seek legal action against this false report,” said Abu.
All this off-screen action is more intriguing than the high voltage on-screen thrillers.
