With the Hema Committee report now the sole discussion point in Kerala about the way sexual exploitation is taking place in the Malayalam film industry, cultural affairs minister Saji Cherian on Saturday strongly defended director Ranjith, over the accusation levelled against him by Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra. Cherian’s defence of Ranjith came as State Congress President K. Sudhakaran and several others are demanding the resignation of Ranjith from the post of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy’s chairman.
Speaking to the media on Saturday morning, Cherian said he also saw the allegation against Ranjith in the media. “Ranjith said he is innocent. If anyone has a complaint, it should come in writing and if it does, then a probe will be done.
He is India’s hugely popular artiste and just based on a statement, nothing can be done. A mere allegation won’t suffice, there has to be a written complaint and then a probe will be there. Without that, nothing can be done.
What if this turns out to be wrong,” asked Cherian. Recalling the incident that took place at Kochi in 2009, Mitra said that she had gone to an apartment where she met with Ranjith and other members of his team to discuss a role in the film. During the discussions, Ranjith had made advances towards her, causing her discomfort.
She left the place immediately after conveying to one of the members of the team that she would not be acting in the film, stated Mitra. With the TV channels going to town with t.