Transgender activist Raga Ranjini has publicly accused Shiju, the casting director of the film Mlechan, of perpetuating exploitation within the cinema industry. Ranjini claims that Shiju specifically reached out to her to request the inclusion of four transgender individuals for the film, which has recently commenced shooting in Kochi. In her allegations, Ranjini also states that Shiju asked her to be ready for 'adjustments' and insisted that she travel to Kochi for this purpose.

She said that she firmly rejected these demands..