Female Actor Assault Case: SIT Approaches Trial Court to Cancel Dileep’s Bail

BY Chandhini R On April 13, 2022

The special investigation team (SIT) of the Kerala crime branch, which is probing the 2017 female actor abduction and sexual assault case, approached the trial court on Tuesday seeking to revoke actor Dileep’s bail.

Dileep is currently facing trial as the chief conspirator in the case. According to the crime branch, the actor has violated the conditions of his bail, by influencing witnesses and tampering with the evidence.

Dileep was arrested on July 10, 2017 for his involvement in the abduction and assault of a female Malayalam actor earlier that February. After spending 85 days in jail, he was granted bail by the Kerala High Court.

At the end of 2021, the case gained momentum when some serious allegations were levelled against Dileep by filmmaker Balachandra Kumar. The latter alleged that Dileep had watched visuals of the sexual assault at his house and that the actor knew Pulsar Suni, the first accused in the case. Moreover, he claimed that Dileep had influenced some of the significant witnesses in the case, who later turned hostile during the trial. Based on these allegations, a fresh probe was initiated.

Several audio clips of conversations between the accused parties have surfaced since, implicating Dileep and substantiating Kumar’s allegations.

Recently, an audio clip of Dileep’s brother-in-law Suraj speaking with a former witness Dr Hyderali has emerged. In it, Suraj is reportedly heard requesting the doctor to speak in favour of Dileep, as per the instructions of the lawyers.

The crime branch also pointed out that Dileep had influenced key witnesses like Sagar, an employee at the boutique owned by the actor’s wife, Kavya Madhavan.

The SIT argued that the recent discoveries in the conspiracy to murder case, including findings that Dileep had data erased from the phones submitted as evidence, are also a solid reason for cancelling the actor’s bail.

Meanwhile, the court had earlier directed the investigation officer Baiju Paulose to submit a report in response to Dileep’s contempt of court petition against him. The actor alleged that a document submitted to the court was leaked to the media.

When Paulose submitted his response on Tuesday, the court observed that it was vague and incomplete. “He (Paulose) evasively reported that others also had the opportunity to access the document. Despite this court’s direction to maintain confidentiality in the investigation, considering the fact that an in-camera trial is going on, it seems that the IO admitted that the copies of the document were either circulated or broadcasted in the media,” the court noted.

The court then directed ADGP S Sreejith, the chief of the crime branch, to submit a detailed statement regarding the same, on or before Monday.

The court has also ordered the crime branch to submit another report on the progress of the current investigation in the case.

For a full timeline of the female actor abduction and assault case, see here.

Amber Heard Accuses Johnny Depp of Sexual Assault on Day 1 of Defamation Trial

BY Shrija Ganguly On April 13, 2022

Amber Heard accused former husband Johnny Depp of sexual assault during day one of the trial in the $50 million defamation suit filed by the latter against her.

The trial that started on Tuesday is the latest development in the ongoing legal battle between the two actors since Heard filed for divorce in 2016, alleging domestic abuse at the hands of Depp.

In their opening statement, Heard’s representatives alleged that Depp had penetrated her with a liquor bottle during one of the episodes of domestic abuse.

Heard’s attorney Elaine Bredehoft said Depp took eight to ten ecstasy tablets, while in Australia in 2016, then ripped off Heard’s nightgown, dragged her across the floor, punching and kicking her. “Then he penetrates her with a liquor bottle — that’s the Johnny Depp you’re going to hear about in this case,” she added.

Depp’s defamation suit concerns an opinion piece published by Heard in The Washington Post in December 2018, in which she shared her experiences as a domestic abuse survivor. Depp, who has continued to deny the allegations of domestic abuse, claims that her article was defamatory and impacted his career, even though she did not mention him by name.

The trial is set to unfold at the Fairfax County Courthouse in Virginia, over the next six weeks, and is being broadcast live. Opening statements from both parties were presented to the 11-member jury panel and the presiding judge Penney Azcarate on Tuesday.

Depp’s representatives said three statements from Heard’s opinion piece were particularly devastating for the actor and his film career. Attorney Ben Chew further added, “She didn’t have to (name Depp). She didn’t have to, because the evidence will show that everyone in Hollywood, and outside, knew exactly what she was talking about.”

Chew claimed that Heard’s domestic abuse allegations against Depp were prompted by his repeated requests for a divorce, which made her concoct a story that was designed to trap Depp and “recast herself as an abuse survivor.”

Another of Depp’s lawyers, Camille M Vasquez, called Heard “a profoundly troubled person who manipulated the people around her – just like she manipulated Mr Depp.” She said that Heard was obsessed with her public image, and decided to become the face of abuse to avoid humiliation and advance her career, after Depp had left.

Around the time Heard had filed for divorce in 2016, she had also applied for a restraining order against Depp.

Chew noted that Depp and Heard had reached an out-of-court settlement, and the latter had decided to not go forward with the order. “In the wake of the ‘Me Too’ movement and the release of her film Aquaman, Heard chose to remind the world about the festering allegations – this time under the banner of the international newspaper The Washington Post,” he continued.

Calling her allegations “false,” Chew added that they devastated Depp’s career and family.

Depp was dropped from big-budget projects like Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean as well as the new Fantastic Beasts film in the wake of Heard’s allegations. “Hollywood studios don’t want to receive backlash for hiring someone accused of abuse,” said Chew.

Heard’s team, meanwhile, said that it was Depp’s unprofessional behaviour and his refusal to quit drugs and alcohol that kept him from being a reliable actor, and not Heard’s allegations.

One of Heard’s representatives shared an instance, when Depp had gone without food for days, and just lived on drugs and alcohol before blacking out. This had resulted in his long absence from the sets of a film that he was working on, they claimed.

“Disney wasn’t going to cast him (Depp) in Pirates of the Caribbean 6. Months before the op-ed, Disney was considering dropping him. Disney had a dossier on him that had articles from the press and other information about Depp. And they didn’t have this article (Heard’s op-ed) in their files. It didn’t register with them just as it didn’t register with the public,” her representative said.

He added that Depp’s suit was meant to humiliate, haunt, and wreck Heard, and that his financial distress fuelled his aggressive tendencies towards her. “It was two years ago, when Depp’s career was in a free fall while Heard’s was taking off, that he decided to file the suit.”

Heard’s representatives also brought up her right to freedom of speech, and emphasised that the case was about the First Amendment. They noted that the op-ed did not divulge details of the relationship between Heard and Depp, but was focused on social change and proposed legislation on abuse.

It is to be noted that Depp’s legal team pushed for the trial to be held in Virginia, which notably has a more lenient Anti-SLAPP law as compared to California.

The Anti-SLAPP (Anti-Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) law aims at protecting the defendants of meritless lawsuits by invoking the First Amendment. It is primarily intended to protect the news media in matters of public interest.

The degree of Anti-SLAPP protections vary significantly from state to state. While the law is more broad in California and protects all speech made in connection with a public issue, like domestic abuse, Virginia has no allowance for invoking these protections at an early stage of the proceedings.

It remains to be seen how far Heard’s team will be able to push with free speech in this case.

Actor-Scenarist Sreenivasan is Off the Ventilator, Showing Signs of Recovery

BY Chandhini R On April 12, 2022

Sreenivasan, the veteran Malayalam actor, screenwriter and director, who was admitted to Apollo Adlux Hospital for bypass surgery, is said to be showing significant signs of recovery.

In a media bulletin issued on Tuesday, the hospital management stated that the actor has now been taken off ventilator support and all cardiac support. “He is able to communicate with family members and is in the recovering phase,” the statement added.

Sreenivasan was admitted to the hospital on March 30 after he developed heart-related ailments. Earlier, a hospital source told Silverscreen India that the 66-year-old actor was hospitalised for almost one week and that bypass surgery was performed on him after tests had revealed that Sreenivasan had three blocks in his blood vessels.

Post-surgery, he was put on ventilator support and since then his condition remained stable, the source had said, adding that the actor was responding well to the treatment and medication.

Sreenivasan was born in Patyam village in Kerala’s Kannur district on April 6, 1956. His mother was a homemaker and his father was a school teacher. After completing a bachelor’s course in economics from PRNSS college, he moved to Chennai in 1977 to study at the Film and Television Institute of Tamil Nadu.

He made his acting debut in Manimuzhakkam directed by PA Backer in 1976, and his first role as a protagonist came in 1979’s Sanghaganam.

His work as a scenarist began with Odaruthammava Aalariyam (1984). Some of his popular films as a writer include Sandesam, Mazhayethum Munpe, Gandhinagar 2nd Street and Thalayanamanthram, and Njan Prakashan.

His first film as a director was Vadakkunokkiyanthram (1989). It won the National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues and the Kerala State Award for Best Popular Film. Sreenivasan is the recipient of three Kerala State Awards in all.

As a writer and actor, he has frequently collaborated with directors such as Priyadarshan, Sathyan Anthikad and Kamal. He last starred in Mohan Kumar Fans (2021) and will be seen in a handful of upcoming films like Makal, Keedam, and Pyali.

Sreenivasan is married to Vimala, a retired teacher, and both of his sons – Vineeth Sreenivasan and Dhyan Sreenivasan – are filmmakers and actors.

Britney Spears Announces Pregnancy Months After Conservatorship Ends

BY Namrata Ganguly On April 12, 2022

Britney Spears, the American pop singer, on Monday announced that she is pregnant. The announcement comes months after the end of her conservatorship, which gave her father control over both her personal and professional life.

“I lost so much weight to go on my Maui trip only to gain it back. I thought “Geez, what happened to my stomach ?” My husband said “No, you’re food pregnant silly!” So, I got a pregnancy test and uhhhhh well, I am having a baby. Four days later I got a little more food pregnant. It’s growing! If two are in there. I might just lose it,” she wrote on her Instagram.

In her post, she also mentioned that she will not be going out as much because of the paparazzi, while citing that during her previous pregnancy she had “perinatal depression,” which is characterised by mood disorders during pregnancy and after giving birth.

“I have to say it is absolutely horrible that women didn’t talk about it, back then. Some people considered it dangerous if a woman complained like that with a baby inside her, but now women talk about it every day. Thank Jesus we don’t have to keep that pain a reserved, proper secret. This time I will be doing yoga every day! Spreading lots of joy and love!” she further shared.

In November 2021, the singer’s 13-year long conservatorship with her father Jamie Spears came to an end, after years of legal battle.

39-year-old Spears had been in what she termed an “abusive” conservatorship with her father since 2008, following the singer’s public meltdowns during her divorce and custodial battle with Kevin Federline. The arrangement gave her father complete control over her financial affairs, estate, and her personal life, and she had fought a lengthy court battle to end it.

In June 2021, during one of the hearings in the case, Spears addressed her own trauma over the years, directly to the judge in a 24-minute speech, which was live-streamed.

She spoke about her mental health, the therapy and medical treatment she had taken, and how she was monitored and looked after by six different nurses and psychiatrists, who had put her on high doses of medication that had impacted her health.

It was during this hearing, that Spears mentioned that she had gotten an Intrauterine Device (IUD) to prevent pregnancy, which she had wanted to take out but was not allowed to, at the time. She also mentioned that she was not allowed to get married or pregnant, as per the terms of her conservatorship.

“So, basically, this conservatorship is doing me way more harm than good,” she had said.

Two months before the conservatorship ended and just days after her father had filed a petition to end the legal arrangement, Spears had announced her engagement to long-term partner Sam Asghari through social media, in September.

Cyber Expert Sai Sankar’s Confidential Statements Recorded; Notice Served to Dileep’s Lawyers

BY Chandhini R On April 12, 2022

A court in Kerala, on Monday, recorded the confidential statements of cyber expert Sai Shankar in the conspiracy to murder case filed against actor Dileep and his associates.

Dileep, who is currently facing trial as the chief conspirator in the 2017 female actor abduction and sexual assault case, is also being investigated for allegedly conspiring to kill the police officers who investigated the assault case. Recently, Sankar was booked as the seventh accused in the conspiracy to murder case, for tampering with the evidence on Dileep’s mobile phones.

Last week, he surrendered to the police and confessed to erasing data related to the actor assault case from Dileep’s phone. Claiming that there is a threat to his life, he requested the court to record his statement of confession. Following this, his confidential statements were documented before the First Class Judicial Magistrate Court II on Monday.

It is reported that the crime branch will turn Shankar into an approver in the case. A few lawyers who gave statements against Dileep’s counsel are also expected to be listed as approvers.

The crime branch has further issued a notice to Dileep’s lawyer B Raman Pillai and his associates, who were allegedly involved in tampering with the phones submitted as evidence, asking them to produce the gadgets used to erase the data as well as some digital documents taken from Sankar.

After surrendering to the police, Sankar had alleged that all of the main devices he used for erasing the data – laptop, iMac, pendrive and hard disk – were taken into possession by Dileep’s counsel, Philip T Varghese. Dileep’s lawyers have now been asked to turn in these devices to the crime branch.

Meanwhile, the investigating officer in the assault case, Baiju Paulose, will appear before the trial court on Tuesday. The court has sought an explanation from him about the alleged leak of certain documents of the court proceedings to the media.

Explainer: Everything You Need to Know about Johnny Depp’s Defamation Trial against Amber Heard

BY Shrija Ganguly On April 12, 2022

The trial in the defamation suit filed against actor Amber Heard by her ex husband Johnny Depp begins on Tuesday. The suit was filed by Depp over an op-ed piece that Heard wrote, addressing her experiences with domestic abuse at the hands of the former. It is expected to go on for six weeks.

This trial is the latest development in the long legal battle between the two and Silverscreen India brings you this explainer on what has happened thus far as well as the current proceedings.

What Transpired?

Heard and Depp started dating in 2012, after meeting on the sets of The Rum Diary, and got married three years later. However, their marriage was short-lived and ended in 2017.

Heard filed for divorce in 2016, alleging that she was subjected to domestic abuse and violence at the hands of Depp. Heard also obtained a restraining order against Depp. The two have been engaged in a prolonged legal battle since.

Although Depp denied the abuse, the couple eventually settled in August 2016 and released a joint statement that read, “Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love. Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm.”

Depp paid Heard a settlement of $7 million that she pledged to donate to the American Civil Liberties Union and the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. And it seemed like they had put the past behind them.

However, things changed when, in December 2018, Heard wrote an opinion piece in The Washington Post and shared her experiences as a domestic abuse survivor.

While she had kept Depp’s name out of it, the latter slammed her with a defamation suit for $50 million in early 2019, claiming that her article had impacted his career and cost him a few projects.

“The op-ed depended on the central premise that Ms Heard was a domestic abuse victim and that Mr Depp perpetrated domestic violence against her,” the suit read, and added that the piece was Heard’s attempt to generate “an elaborate hoax to generate positive publicity.”

In response to it, Heard filed a $100 million counterclaim against Depp.

In the midst of this, Depp also filed a libel suit against the British tabloid The Sun, for calling him a “wife-beater.” But, that lawsuit was rejected by the British High Court in 2020. In its ruling, the court also observed that 12 of the 14 alleged domestic violence incidents had occurred.

Heard attempted to get the defamation suit quashed in the US after Depp lost the libel case against The Sun. However, the judge noted that The Sun’s libel suit was about whether or not the statements published by the newspaper were false, while Heard’s defamation charge related her own statements. The court thus allowed the defamation suit to proceed and the case is now up for hearing.

Meanwhile, as a consequence of their legal battle, Depp was dropped from big-budget projects like Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean as well as the new Fantastic Beasts film.

Although Depp’s fans demanded that a similar treatment be meted out to Heard, the producers of Aquaman clarified that they had no plans of removing her from the franchise.

Current Proceedings

Fairfax County Courthouse in Virginia is scheduled to hear the opening statements from both parties on Tuesday. An 11-member jury was selected on Monday ahead of the trial. While seven members will ultimately deliberate, the other four have been selected to serve as alternates.

Judge Penney Azcarate is to preside over the trial, which will take place from Monday through Thursday each week. There will be a break in between from May 9 to 12, as Judge Azcarate is to attend a previously scheduled judicial conference.

The high-profile case is expected to see a star-studded witness list, including names like Elon Musk, actors James Franco and Paul Bettany, among others.

The trial is taking place in Virginia as Depp’s legal team successfully argued that it should be held there as the state is home to two offices of The Washington Post, where the paper is physically published.

A potential reason for them pushing for this location could be Virginia’s more lenient Anti-SLAPP law as compared to California, according to the BBC.

The Anti-SLAPP (Anti-Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) law aims at protecting the defendants of meritless lawsuits by invoking the First Amendment, or the right to protect one’s speech. It is primarily intended to protect the news media in matters of public interest.

The degree of Anti-SLAPP protections vary significantly from state to state. For instance, in California, the law is more broad and protects speech made in connection with a public issue, like domestic abuse. Virginia, on the other hand, has no allowance for invoking these protections at an early stage of the proceedings.

Heard, thus, will not be able to dismiss the suit right away.

Ahead of the trial, a representative of Depp’s told Deadline, “He’s not trying to punish her or humiliate her. He just wants the truth to come out. He wants to clear his name.”

It remains to be seen if Depp will be able to clear his name and prove that Heard’s op-ed did, in fact, impact his career as an actor.

‘Lock Upp’ Participant Mandana Karimi Says Popular Director Abandoned Her When She was Pregnant with His Child

BY Anindita Banerjee On April 11, 2022

Actor Mandana Karimi, who is currently a participant in the Kanagana Ranaut-hosted game show Lock Upp, revealed in an episode that she was abandoned by a popular Hindi film director after she told him she was pregnant with his child.

“In lockdown, there was this period when I was completely lost on social media and I was completely silent for a few months because, after my separation and divorce, I could not trust men. During the time that I was struggling with my divorce, I did have a secret relationship. It was not committed but it went on for a year and a half,” Karimi said.

Karimi was married to businessman Gaurav Gupta in 2017 and separated from him five months later. They got legally divorced in 2021.

“My relationship was with a very well-known director who, in the outside world, talks about women’s rights and independence. He is an idol to many people from the young generation, aspiring filmmakers, and even teenagers because he has a strong image of coming from zero and becoming someone. He made me feel that he could be a friend. My relationship with him was very secretive because I was not yet divorced,” she continued.

“During the lockdown, we even started living together and he’d tell me he loved me. He even told me, ‘Let’s plan a family.’ We planned the pregnancy but when it happened, he completely backed off and his reason was that he did not think he was emotionally ready to become a father again. Suddenly, he was like, ‘I did not believe you could get pregnant so easily at the age of 33’,” Karimi added.

She also said that he pointed to a “public case” against him and claimed his ex was not over him.

Further, she revealed that he had tried to convince her to have an abortion. “I had to take a decision because I come from a broken home. I took the step and I did have an abortion. It destroyed so much of me. I do not want to name that person because he does not deserve to be known by his name.”

Lock Upp streams on MXPlayer and ALTBalaji.

Female Actor Assault Case: Manju Warrier Identifies Voices of Dileep & Other Accused; Kavya Madhavan’s Interrogation Postponed to April 13

BY Chandhini R On April 11, 2022

Manju Warrier, the Malayalam actor and former wife of actor Dileep, has identified his voice as well as those of the other accused in the 2017 female actor abduction and sexual assault case in the audio clips released by filmmaker Balachandra Kumar.

Dileep is currently facing trial as the chief conspirator in the abduction and assault case. He is also being investigated for allegedly conspiring to kill the police officers who probed the assault case.

Warrier, who is also a close friend of the survivor, is a witness in the case. She was summoned to a hotel in Kochi, on Sunday, and was questioned for about four hours by crime branch officials. During this time, she reportedly identified the voice samples belonging to Dileep, his brother Anoop, and brother-in-law Suraj.

The audio clips identified by her included those released by Kumar. It is notable that the current fresh investigation into the case, almost five years after a female actor was abducted and assaulted in a moving car, was initiated as a result of Kumar’s allegations and his release of these audio clips implicating Dileep and the other accused.

The filmmaker had claimed that Dileep had watched visuals of the sexual assault at his house and that he personally knew Suni, the first accused. He had also alleged that Dileep had influenced some of the significant witnesses in the case, who later turned hostile during the trial.

Earlier, Dileep’s friends and acquaintances had also identified the voice samples. The audio clips have been sent in for forensic examination and the results are awaited.

Meanwhile, Dileep’s wife and actor Kavya Madhavan, who was supposed to be questioned on Monday, will now be interrogated on Wednesday. In response to a summon notice sent to her earlier, she had told officials that she would be unable to reach Aluva on Monday from Chennai and requested a postponement. As per her request, the interrogation has been rescheduled to 2 pm on Wednesday at her Padmasarovaram residence.

Recently, a few audio clips have surfaced which appear to implicate Kavya in the actor assault case. One of them is said to mention Kavya’s role in the incident, while in another clip, a voice that sounds like Dileep’s is heard saying that it was not he who had to undergo punishment but another woman.

Kavya is likely to be questioned about these as well as other recent developments in the case.

Recently, cyber expert Sai Sankar surrendered to the police and confessed to having erased data related to the actor assault case from Dileep’s phone. He further said that it would be possible for him to recover the data in question.

For a full timeline of the female actor abduction and assault case, see here.

‘Meenakshi Sundareshwar’ Actor Shiv Subramaniam Dies

BY Anindita Banerjee On April 11, 2022

Actor and screenwriter Shiv Kumar Subramaniam, who has been working in the Hindi film industry since 1989, died on Sunday night. The cause of his death is still unknown.

Director Hansal Mehta on Monday, announced the demise of the late actor, “With profound and heartfelt grief, we wish to inform you of the passing of one of the most dignified and noble souls to inhabit human form – our dearest Shiv Subramaniam. Incredibly talented, he was much loved and revered personally as well as professionally. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his wife Divya, her mum, dad, Rohan, Rinki, and family; Bhanu chitti and all of Shiv’s family; and his huge legion of friends and fans.”

Sharing details about the funeral, the note further read, “Kindly note – The funeral will leave from Shishira, Yamuna Nagar, Lokhandwala Back road, Andheri West at 10 am, 11.04.2022. The cremation will be at slam at Mokshdham Hindu Shamshanbhoomi, Ceasar Rd, Amboli, Andheri West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400058.”

Subramaniam, who was last seen in Netflix’s Meenakshi Sundareshwar playing Sanya Malhotra’s onscreen father, started his journey in the Hindi film industry by writing the screenplay of Vidhu Vinod Chopra‘s Parinda in 1989. As a writer, he had also worked on other popular films like 1942: A Love Story, Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin, Arjun Pandit, Chameli, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, and Teen Patti.

Aside from Meenakshi Sundareshwar, he also appeared in movies such as 2 States, Nail Polish, Rocky Handsome, Hichki, Happy Journey, Risk, Prahaar, Ungli, Bangistan, Kaminey, Stanley Ka Dabba, and more.

After the news of his demise, several film personalities like director Mukesh Chhabra, Ashoke Pandit, and actor Gulshan Devaiah, among others shared their condolences via social media.

Journalist Beena Sarwar also took to Twitter and said she is “gutted” to hear the news. “Incredibly tragic, especially as it happened just two months after the passing of his and Divya’s only child – Jahaan, taken by a brain tumour two weeks before his 16th birthday,” she wrote.

Filmmaker Sudhir Mishra reminisced his first meeting with Subramaniam and wrote, “Shiv Subramaniam co-wrote Is Raat ki Subah Nahin, Chameli, and Hazaaron with me but much before that in 1984 when I was a writer on Saeed Mirza’s Mohan Joshi Haazir Ho, Naseer (Naseeruddin Shah) brought this young kid to the sets and told me to teach him the ropes. The kid learnt fast.”

Vaanam Art Festival Kickstarts; Pa Ranjith Says Event Will Aid in Understanding Dalit History

BY Anusha Sundar On April 10, 2022

Filmmaker Pa Ranjith, while speaking at the inauguration of the Vaanam Art Festival, at Prasad Film Lab in Chennai, on Saturday, said these kinds of events play an important role in understanding Dalit history.

Spearheaded by Ranjith’s Neelam Panpattu Maiam, the Vaanam Art Festival commenced on Saturday in view of Dalit History Month. The festival is set to host various events, from film screenings to art and photo exhibitions, which will be conducted until April 30. Dalit History Month is observed in April as the month includes the birth anniversaries of anti-caste icons BR Ambedkar (April 14) and Jyotirao Phule (April 11).

The Vaanam Art Festival began with a three-day film event, PK Rosy Film Festival, named after Malayalam actor PK Rosy, the first Dalit woman actor in Indian cinema.

On the first day, the films Seththumaan (Tamil), Asuran (Tamil), Palasa 1978 (Telugu), and Veyil Marangal (Malayalam) were screened at the festival. All these films talk about Dalit lives and the oppression they face in society.

Speaking at the event, Ranjith said, “The Tamil diaspora’s main exposure to the culture is through cinema. Most of their discourse is related to cinema or politics. Both of these come from people and I think, it is important to understand them. It is also important to understand our history. This kind of event plays an important role in understanding and also learning about our history.”

He also added, “I only stepped into this field after I understood that cinema is not a simple medium. I have been making films for nine years now. Compared to earlier, I am happy to note that more conversations (about Dalit issues) have begun in recent times and films such as these are being shown at a festival. The main aim of the festival is to self-interrogate about what we are doing and what is happening around us. Why do we need films that talk about caste oppression and the system? I think it is important to discuss the reasons. Cinema and society are entwined and the art form’s influence is huge.”

Starting his speech with Ambedkarite slogan ‘Jai Bhim’, Karuna Kumar, director of Palasa 1978, said, “Within two weeks of releasing our film, theatres were shut due to the pandemic. It later streamed on Amazon Prime Video. No one from the Telugu film industry reviewed the film on Twitter because it is a Dalit film that talks about Dalit politics. There is caste everywhere. Ranjith anna was the one who tweeted about Palasa 1978 first, calling it an important film. Following that, many people saw it.”

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In Conversation with Silverscreen India:

We caught up with Ranjith just before the event began to talk about the shift in the lens of filmmaking and the portrayal of the oppressed in Tamil cinema these days.

“In India, cinema is a mainstream media that all classes and castes watch and celebrate. There is still caste discrimination in temples and religious festivities, but theatres and cinema break such barriers in most cases,” he said.

“We can divide Tamil cinema into different eras, such as pre and post-Dravidian movement. I personally feel that 80s cinema was very casteist, and this extended even until the 2000s. It was in such circumstances that I started out. I began to search for myself in cinema and could not find anything relatable. There has been false narrative and stereotypical portrayal of certain groups. Even now, there are such films,” he added.

This prompted him to make films that would initiate discussion and focus on the untold stories of Dalit lives.

The director feels the Tamil industry is finally moving towards a healthy place now and is highlighting the plight of the oppressed.

The filmmaker, who is set to make his Hindi debut with the upcoming biopic of tribal leader Birsa Munda, believes that cinema is an international medium that cannot be limited within the structures of region or language. “Since I am here (in Tamil Nadu), I understand the language and make films accordingly. In the case of Birsa Munda, I see it as an Indian script and similar to stories of world leaders who have fought against oppressors. I don’t see the language barrier as a big problem; the thoughts and emotions in the story transcend it.”

Ranjith worked with a star like Rajinikanth on two consecutive movies, Kaala and Kabali, when he was only a two-films-old director. Since then, several other young filmmakers have bagged projects with big names. When asked how he views the current pattern of star actors working with young filmmakers, Ranjith said, “It is definitely based on the talent and the belief the actors have in them. I see it as a healthy thing.”

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PK Film Festival is scheduled to take continue on Sunday and Monday. A total of 13 films about Dalit lives and caste oppression are set to be screened. For the full schedule of the film festival, see here. The full schedule of the art festival can be found here.

Amber Heard Quits Social Media Ahead of Johnny Depp Defamation Suit Hearing

BY Shrija Ganguly On April 10, 2022

Actor Amber Heard, who is known for appearing in DC’s Aquaman, is temporarily quitting social media ahead of the hearing of a defamation suit that ex-husband and actor Johnny Depp filed against her for recounting moments of domestic abuse.

The hearing is slated for Tuesday.

“I’m going to go offline for the next several weeks. As you may know, I’ll be in Virginia, where I face my ex-husband Johnny Depp in court. Johnny is suing me for an op-ed I wrote in the Washington Post, in which I recounted my experience of violence and domestic abuse,” Heard wrote in an Instagram post, on Saturday.

She added, “I never named him, rather I wrote about the price women pay for speaking out against men in power. I continue to pay that price, but hopefully when this case concludes, I can move on and so can Johnny. I have always maintained a love for Johnny and it brings me great pain to have to live out the details of our past life together in front of the world.”

Heard and Depp got married in 2015 after dating for three years. In 2016, Heard filed for divorce stating that Depp was abusive. While their divorce was finalised in January 2017, the two have been engaged in a prolonged legal battle.

Depp, who has starred in films like Pirates of the Caribbean and the Fantastic Beasts franchise, sued Heard in 2019 over an op-ed piece she wrote for the Washington Post in December 2018, describing her life as a victim of domestic abuse.

He had also filed a libel suit against the British tabloid The Sun, for calling him a “wife-beater.” But, that lawsuit was rejected by the British High Court in 2020. The court also found that 12 of the 14 alleged domestic violence incidents did occur.

Despite Heard’s attempts to get the defamation suit quashed at the time of the libel case against The Sun, the judge noted that Heard’s interest in having the court recognise her domestic violence charges against Depp and The Sun’s interest in the libel suit did not align. The court thus allowed the defamation suit to proceed and this case is now up for hearing.

Meanwhile, as a consequence of the legal battle between the two, Depp was dropped from major projects like Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean as well as the new Fantastic Beasts film.

Even though Depp’s fans demanded that a similar treatment be meted out to Heard, the producers of Aquaman clarified that they had no plans of removing her from the franchise.

Mannava Balayya, Veteran Telugu Actor & Filmmaker, Dies at 92

BY Anusha Sundar On April 9, 2022

Mannava Balayya, the veteran Telugu actor and filmmaker, who was popular during the 60s and 70s, died on Saturday morning at his residence in Hyderabad, due to age-related ailments. He was 92.

Born in Chavapadu, in the Guntur district, the late actor pursued mechanical engineering at Guindy Engineering College in Chennai, before venturing into cinema. After developing an interest in films through drama, Balayya made his acting debut with Ethuku Pai Ethu, directed by writer-filmmaker Tapi Chanakya. Produced by Sarathi Studios, it was released in 1958.

Subsequently, he went on to act in nearly 300 films and starred alongside some notable names in the Telugu film industry, including SV Ranga Rao, Anjali Devi, Nandamuri Balakrishna, Nagarjuna Akkineni and Krishna, among others. Balayya’s filmography also includes recurring films that are adapted from Hindu mythology. The late actor has appeared in films, based on the Mahabharata, such as Kurukshetram (1977), Bala Bharatam (1972), Pandava Vanavasam (1965), Sri Rama Rajyam (2011), to name a few.

Balayya also branched out in the film industry as a producer, director, and story writer. In 1971, he backed his maiden project as a producer titled Chellili Kapuram. The film starred actors Sobhan Babu, and Vanisri, with the story written by Balayya. It won the Nandi Film Award, a state accolade. In 1973, he again backed and wrote the film Neramu Siksha featuring Krishna, and Bharati.

As a producer, Balayya has frequently collaborated with Krishna. He has also backed Neramu Siksha (1973), Eenati Bandam Yenatido (1977), Chuttalunnaru Jagratha (1980), Kirayi Alludu (1983), among others. He has also helmed the films Pasupu Tadu (1986), and Police Alludu (1994). He also went on to win the Nandi Award for Second Best Story Writer for the Telugu drama film Oorukichchina Maata (1981) starring Chiranjeevi.

Balayya was last seen in the 2013 film Ramachari as politician-industrialist Harishchandra Prasad.

Actor Nandamuri Balakrishna mourned Balayya’s death and said that the latter was a very good actor, who has shared the screen space with his father NT Rama Rao and him. Calling his death “unfortunate,” Balakrishna said that their families shared an amicable relationship.

Female Actor Assault Case: Cyber Expert Sai Sankar Confesses to Helping Actor Dileep With Tampering Evidence

BY Chandhini R On April 9, 2022

Cyber expert Sai Sankar, who helped actor Dileep in removing data from his mobile phones, has surrendered to the crime branch on Friday and confessed to helping the actor in tampering with evidence.

On Friday, after being released on bail, in an exclusive interview with Reporter Live, he made some revelations regarding the removal of data from Dileep’s mobile phones. He confessed to helping Dileep tamper with the data on the mobile phones, on January 29 and 30.

The cyber expert had earlier taken off to Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh, when police were on the lookout for him.

Dileep is currently under trial as the chief conspirator behind the 2017 female actor abduction and sexual assault and is also being investigated for allegedly plotting to kill officers involved in that case.

It may be noted that as per HC’s order, Dileep and the other accused had submitted their mobile phones as part of the probe in the conspiracy to murder case. The crime branch had earlier stated that data in phones had been tampered with.

Later, it was found that Sankar had cleared data from the phones in question. He had also reportedly gone to the house of Dileep’s lawyer and had accessed Wi-Fi from there, as well as the hotels he had stayed at.

In his confession, Sankar said, “Dileep had told me what needed to be deleted from the phones, in the presence of his counsel. He was present with me for around 4-5 hours. He said that during a forensic examination, only the data we keep on top should be made visible and the main evidence should not be found. They asked me to remove around 300 to 400 documents. I did not use the shredding method to remove the information. Instead, I loaded junk data. First, we removed the original data and then on top of it, we loaded unimportant data.”

He added that the 12 chats retrieved by the forensic team were fake and the original chats cannot be recovered. “But it is possible for me to retrieve it. I can recover whatever data has been erased from this phone. In my perspective, the evidence that they had asked me to erase was mostly related to the female actor assault case,” he mentioned.

Sankar said that he had not received any big monetary benefits but took up the job due to the respect he had for senior lawyer B Raman Pillai.

Earlier, Sankar had filed a petition to the Kerala High Court stating that crime branch officials had harassed him into giving a statement against Dileep. Now, he revealed that Dileep’s counsel had created a false petition and had told him that they were applying for an anticipatory bail plea for him. He reiterated that he was unaware that the lawyers were going to file a harassment complaint.

He further noted that he destroyed evidence despite the court’s order and regretted doing the same. Moreover, he said that Dileep’s counsel had reportedly failed to offer him protection and hence, he decided to reveal the truth. Noting that there is a threat to his life, he requested the court for recording his statements of confession (section 164 in CRPC).

The police had previously seized the iMac laptop allegedly used by Sankar to delete data from the phones. Sankar has said that it was the secondary device and the main devices used by him–iMac, laptop, pendrive and hard disk–were taken by Dileep’s counsel, Philip T Varghese.

Meanwhile, an audio clip of Dileep’s brother-in-law Suraj speaking with a former witness Dr Hyderali has emerged. It was reported that Suraj was heard requesting the doctor to speak in favour of Dileep, as per the instructions of the lawyer.

In the aftermath of the incident, Dileep had claimed that he was admitted to the hospital for fever at the time of the actor’s assault. When the doctor was called to give a statement, he first denied Dileep’s admission to the hospital. Later, the witness turned hostile after being influenced by Suraj.

Another audio clip of Dileep speaking with his lawyer Sujesh Menon, has also surfaced, where the lawyer is heard telling the actor that he had already seen the visuals of the assault.

Sonam Kapoor, Anand Ahuja’s New Delhi Residence Robbed of Cash & Jewellery Worth Rs 1.41 Cr

BY Namrata Ganguly On April 9, 2022

Actor Sonam Kapoor and her husband Anand Ahuja’s New Delhi residence has been robbed, with items including jewellery and cash worth Rs 1.41 crore stolen.

The investigation of the case is ongoing and suspects are yet to be identified.

Earlier, Ahuja’s grandmother Sarla Ahuja had claimed that she had reportedly found out about the theft, when she had checked her cupboards for jewellery and cash on February 11. She further informed the police that the last time she had checked the jewellery in the said cupboard, was two years ago.

Following which, the actor’s mother-in-law Priya Ahuja rushed to the Tughlaq Road police station in New Delhi to lodge a complaint about the theft. The house is located at Amrita Shergill Marg, where Kapoor’s mother-in-law, father-in-law Harish Ahuja and Ahuja’s grandmother reside.

On February 23, a complaint was lodged and the police began probing the case, which was reportedly kept under wraps owing to its high profile status.

At present, the entire staff at Ahuja’s residence is being questioned as part of the investigation. Delhi police is questioning 25 employees aside from nine caretakers, drivers, gardeners and other workers. The officials are also going over CCTV footage from the previous year, to identify possible suspects.

Additionally, Forensic Science Laboratory Division (FSL), the government forensic department, is also involved in the case for collecting evidence from the crime scene.

Recently, in March, one of Ahuja’s father’s export-import firms was reportedly duped of Rs 27 crore by a gang of “highly sophisticated” cybercriminals, who was caught by the Faridabad Police.

Prior to that, in February, Ahuja was accused of tax evasion by an international shipping company, MyUS, that had alleged on Twitter that he had doctored invoices in order to avoid paying taxes and customs duties. Ahuja, however, had deemed the allegations levelled against him, as “baseless slandering.”

Will Smith Banned From the Oscars for 10 Years

BY Anindita Banerjee On April 9, 2022

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced in a statement on Friday that actor Will Smith will be banned from its ceremonies including the Oscars for the next 10 years, as a result of his slapping comedian Chris Rock on stage during this year’s Oscar ceremony.

The Academy’s 54-person board of governors held a special meeting on Friday to determine what action to take against Smith. Smith struck Rock across the face after the latter made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, actor and Smith’s wife being cast in GI Jane 2 because of her shaved head. Pinkett has been diagnosed with alopecia areata, a condition that causes a sudden loss of hair. The actor later apologised in a statement and resigned from the Academy last week.

“The 94th Oscars were meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year; however, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior we saw Mr. Smith exhibit on stage,” the latest statement from the Academy read.

“Today, the Board of Governors convened a meeting to discuss how best to respond to Will Smith’s actions at the Oscars, in addition to accepting his resignation. The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards.”

“We want to express our deep gratitude to Mr. Rock for maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances. We also want to thank our hosts, nominees, presenters, and winners for their poise and grace during our telecast. This action we are taking today in response to Will Smith’s behavior is a step toward a larger goal of protecting the safety of our performers and guests and restoring trust in the Academy. We also hope this can begin a time of healing and restoration for all involved and impacted,” the statement further read.

Smith will, however, retain the Oscar that he earned this year for his lead performance in the film King Richard and remains eligible for future Oscar nominations and wins. Smith, replied soon after in a statement, saying “I accept and respect the Academy’s decision.”

Crime Branch Finds Evidence that Dileep Possessed Visuals of Female Actor Assault

BY Chandhini R On April 8, 2022

The Kerala Crime Branch, which is investigating the 2017 female actor abduction and assault case, has reportedly found evidence substantiating the allegations made by filmmaker Balachandra Kumar that actor Dileep viewed the visuals of the assault.

According to the crime branch, evidence retrieved from a hard disk shows that Dileep had possessed visuals of the assault. The hard disk in question was recovered from a private forensic lab in Mumbai, where the actor had allegedly sent his phone in order to erase the data on it.

The officials further said that thousands of records, including conversations exceeding over 200 hours, were recovered from the six phones submitted by Dileep and the other accused to the Kerala High Court. They added that out of the six phones submitted, the inspection of two of them is 90% complete. The other phones are yet to be inspected.

The officials also said that although Dileep and his lawyers had tampered with the data, figments of it remained, and this was sufficient to substantiate the allegations made by Kumar.

They have also found proof corroborating Kumar’s allegation that Pulsar Suni, the first accused, had visited a place near Dileep’s house.

Aside from this, Dileep’s phone reportedly also contained photos of court documents attested by the presiding officer. On March 29, the officials had requested the Ernakulam Additional Sessions Court to grant permission to investigate this further, but the request was denied.

The crime branch is planning to question Dileep’s wife Kavya Madhavan, who is currently in Chennai, after she returns to Kerala. She will reportedly be available for interrogation next week. The officials told the High Court that her questioning can only be carried out after completely verifying the forensic laboratory reports. They also filed in a petition in court seeking an extension of three months to complete the investigation.

It may be noted that the High Court had earlier ordered that the investigation in the actor assault case be wrapped up by April 15.

Meanwhile, the Bar Council has sent a notice to Dileep’s advocates B Raman Pillai, Philip T Varghese and Sujesh Menon, against whom the survivor raised a complaint alleging unethical behaviour and professional misconduct. The advocates have been directed to submit their responses within two weeks.

Lyricist-Poet Maya Govind Dies After Prolonged Illness

BY Anindita Banerjee On April 7, 2022

Maya Govind, the renowned Hindi film lyricist and poet, died on Thursday in Mumbai. She was 82.

Her funeral will take place on Thursday afternoon. Her son, Ajay Govind, told Indian Express that the veteran lyricist was unwell for the past two months. “She was hospitalised twice, once in December last year, and then in January this year. She had blood clots in her brain and other health issues like urinary infection. She died in her sleep at home this morning, around 9.30 am,” he said.

Talking to ETimes, her son further said, “She was deteriorating slowly because the clot in her brain was causing her problems. At times, it seemed like her condition would improve but then it would get worse. We brought her home from the hospital about a month and a half back, so that we could take better care of her. This morning she passed away after suffering a heart attack.”

“She was not active due to health reasons, but she used to love reciting her poems whenever she would visit relatives and friends. She was very close to Kalyanji-Anandji, Ramanand Sagar and Bappi Lahiri,” her son further shared.

Govind has written songs for more than 350 films and music albums, as well as several TV serials in the 80s.

Born in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh in 1940, she started her career as a film lyricist. Some of the popular songs written by her are Aankhon Mein Base ho Tum (Takkar), Gale Mein Laal Tie (Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam), Thahre Huey Paani Mein (Dalaal) and the title track of the film Main Khiladi Tu Anari.

She is also the author of ten books, which have ghazals, couplets, nazms, and spiritual songs written for gods and goddesses.

Govind also worked in films like Aarop, Jalte Badan, Sawan Ko Aane Do, Pighalta Aasman, Daman, Gaj Gamini, Ganga Ki Kasam, Razia Sultan, Yarana and Janta Ki Adalat, among others. She won many awards over the course of her career for her writing. Govind was also awarded Best Actress by Sangeet Natak Academy, Lucknow in 1970, for her memorable performance as Venare Bai in the famous stage play Khamosh! Adalat Jari Hai by playwright Vijay Tendulkar.

Ahead of ‘Beast’ Release, Vijay Makkal Iyakkam Warns Members Against Sharing Posts, Memes Defaming Political Leaders

BY Anusha Sundar On April 7, 2022

At actor Vijay’s behest, his Vijay Makkal Iyakkam’s General Secretary Bussy Anand issued a statement late on Tuesday, warning the fan outfit’s members not to write, publish, or share any defamatory material about political party leaders or those in government positions, on social media, in press publications, or in posters.

The statement also warned that if any members resorted to such practices, then they would not only be expelled from the organisation but would face legal action as well.

“This is a strict order from Vijay. We have previously advised our members not to indulge in such activities and we have also expelled those who have broken the rules. Hence, if anyone goes against this in the future, we will not only expel them from the Iyakkam but will also take legal action against the offenders,” the statement said.

It is to be noted that this statement comes ahead of the release of Vijay’s Beast. The film is scheduled to hit the big screens on April 13 and the makers recently released its trailer.

Based on the trailer, Beast appears to revolve around a Chennai mall being taken hostage by a group of miscreants. The trailer further shows Vijay as a spy, who happens to be inside the mall when it is taken over. The actor makes his entry in the trailer by cutting through a saffron-coloured screen.

With respect to this scene, several social media handles, including those from the actor’s fanbase, have been drawing comparisons between the saffron screen and the ruling Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP), which is associated with the colour. Posts talking about Vijay “daring to go against that saffron party” and “tearing off saffron” have been shared on Twitter in reference to the scene.

Meanwhile, earlier this week, Beast was banned in Kuwait, as certain portions of the film went against the country’s censor regulations. Scenes showing the abduction of a Pakistan minister are said to have been the cause for the ban.

Written and directed by Nelson Dilipkumar, Beast is produced by Sun Pictures. The film has been certified U/A by the CBFC, with a runtime of two hours and 25 minutes.

Sreenivasan, Veteran Malayalam Actor, Director & Scenarist, on Ventilator Support After Bypass Surgery

BY Chandhini R On April 7, 2022

Sreenivasan, the veteran actor, director and screenwriter, who works predominantly in the Malayalam film industry, was put on ventilator support, on Wednesday, following bypass surgery at Apollo Adlux Hospital in Ernakulam.

Speaking to Silverscreen India, a hospital source said that there is nothing to worry about in the actor’s current health condition. “He continues to be on a ventilator support but is responding well to the treatment and medication. His condition is stable now.”

The source added that the 66-year-old actor has been hospitalised for almost one week after he developed heart-related issues. Tests had revealed that Sreenivasan had three blocks in the blood vessels, following which, bypass surgery was performed on the actor.

He made his acting debut in Manimuzhakkam directed by PA Backer in 1976, and his first protagonist role came in 1979’s Sanghaganam. His work as a scenarist began with Odaruthammava Aalariyam (1984). His first film as a director was Vadakkunokkiyanthram (1989), which won the National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues and the Kerala State Award for Best Popular Film.

As a writer and actor, he has frequently collaborated with directors such as Priyadarshan, Sathyan Anthikad and Kamal. He has also produced the Malayalam films Kadha Parayumbol and Thattathin Marayathu. He has acted in two Tamil films, Pullakuttikaran and Lesa Lesa.

Sreenivasan is a recipient of three Kerala state awards.

Some of his popular films as a writer include Sandesam, Mazhayethum Munpe, Gandhinagar 2nd Street and Thalayanamanthram, and Njan Prakashan.

Sreenivasan is married to Vimala, a retired teacher, and both of his sons – Vineeth Sreenivasan and Dhyan Sreenivasan – are filmmakers and actors. He has acted in the latter’s film Love Action Drama.

He last starred in Mohan Kumar Fans (2021) and will be seen in a handful of upcoming films like Makal, Keedam, and Pyali.

Dileep Erased Chats with 12 Contacts Before Submitting Phone to Court: Crime Branch

BY Chandhini R On April 6, 2022

The Kerala crime branch, which is investigating actor Dileep and his associates in the conspiracy to murder case, has stated that the actor erased his chat history with as many as 12 contacts before turning in his phone for forensic examination.

Dileep is under trial as the chief conspirator behind the 2017 female actor abduction and sexual assault. On January 9, 2022, the crime branch filed a new FIR against the actor and his associates for plotting to kill the officers investigating the assault case, and a fresh probe was launched.

Following this, the Kerala High Court had directed the accused to submit their mobile phones as part of the ongoing investigation. However, forensic examination of the phones revealed that they had been tampered with and some of their data had been erased prior to handing them over to the court. The crime branch has since been involved in determining what was deleted and in attempting to recover the lost data.

On Monday, the crime branch submitted a report of its findings to the Aluva magistrate court.

This report states that Dileep’s chat history with a popular female Malayalam actor was part of the deleted data. Moreover, the investigation report adds that Dileep’s conversations with Dubai-based businessman Galaph, who is the CEO of Sharjah Cricket Association, as well as those with the actor’s partner in the Dhe Puttu restaurant venture, his wife Kavya Madhavan, and his brother-in-law Suraj, were all deleted too.

The report also states that Dileep had erased his chats with two Dubai-based people, one of whom is from Thrissur, while the other is a person named Naseer from Mallappuram, who runs a supermarket in Dubai.

Further, the crime branch reported that Sai Sankar, a private cyber expert and hacker, helped Dileep in deleting the chats.

The deleted data is said to be beyond recovery and the reason for erasing the chats is not clear as yet.

However, the crime branch alleges that the deletion was intentional and notes that the data could have been critical evidence in the case. The investigators also submitted that further probe would be required to find the reasons behind the deletion and added that it could possibly be an attempt to divert the investigation.

Meanwhile, the crime branch also interrogated a former Income Tax officer named Vincent Chowallur over his connection to Dileep. Chowallur is said to be the person who had introduced Dileep’s lawyers to the Mumbai-based lab that was involved in erasing data from the actor’s phone.

For a full timeline of the female actor abduction and assault case, see here.

Bailable Warrant Issued against Filmmaker RK Selvamani in Defamation Case

BY Anusha Sundar On April 6, 2022

A bailable arrest warrant has been issued against RK Selvamani, filmmaker and husband of actor-politician Roja, by a Magistrate court in Chennai in relation to a defamation case.

Selvamani has predominantly made films in Tamil, including popular movies such as Captain Prabhakaran (1991) and Makkal Aatchi (1995), among others. His wife Roja is a former actor who worked in Tamil and Telugu cinema. She is now an MLA of the Nagari constituency in Andhra Pradesh.

Aside from Selvamani, a warrant has also been issued by Chennai’s XV Metropolitan Magistrate in George Town against Arul Anbarasu, a former Congress MLA and son of former Congress MP Anbarasu.

The court has summoned Selvamani and Arul to appear before it on April 23 in relation to a defamation case filed against them by a film financier.

On September 5, 2016, Arul and Selvamani had given an interview to the TV channel Puthiya Thalaimurai, during which they allegedly made defamatory comments about film financier Mukarchand Bothra, with regards to the latter lending money to Roja. Claiming that the words used by the duo had affected his reputation and his image, Bothra filed a defamation case against them, as well as the news channel, in 2017.

The financier had filed his case seeking punishment for the offenders under Sections 499 (Defamation) and 500 (Punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code.

The case against the channel was quashed on February 7, this year.

Bothra died while the case was still pending but his son Gaganchand Bothra continued to pursue it.

Selvamani and Arul failed to appeared before the Magistrate court in relation to this case during the previous hearings, including the most recent one on Monday. Due to this, the court has now issued bailable arrest warrants against the duo and issued summons for them both to appear at the next hearing on April 23.

Survivor in Actor Assault Case Re-Submits Complaint Against Dileep’s Lawyers; 4th Accused Granted Bail

BY Chandhini R On April 6, 2022

The survivor of the 2017 female actor abduction and sexual assault incident has re-submitted her complaint to the bar council of Kerala alleging professional misconduct on the part of actor Dileep’s lawyers.

On February 17, 2017, the survivor, a female actor who predominantly works in Malayalam and Kannada cinema, was abducted and sexually assaulted by a gang of men in a car en route to Kochi from Thrissur.

Dileep is currently facing trial as the chief conspirator behind her abduction and assault. He is also under investigation for allegedly conspiring to kill the police officers involved in the assault case.

In March, the survivor had filed a complaint stating that Dileep’s lawyers had displayed illegal and unethical conduct and urged the bar council to take necessary action against them.

However, the council had rejected her complaint for not being in the proper format. The survivor was directed to re-submit it after rectifying the defects.

In the newly submitted complaint against lawyers B Raman Pillai, Philip T Varghese, and Sujesh Menon, the survivor has stated that they attempted to influence some of the witnesses in the assault case by offering money and property.

She further mentioned that a police case was registered against Pillai for influencing a witness, but he had refused to appear before the officials for questioning and had used his colleagues to stage protests in a bid to derail the investigation.

The survivor also alleged that the lawyers had aided Dileep in tampering with and destroying the data in the phones that were then submitted to the High Court as evidence in the conspiracy to murder case. She claimed that the tampered phones had had evidence on the sexual assault too.

Further, she pointed to the audio clip released by filmmaker Balachandra Kumar which linked Varghese to the bribing of a witness in the assault case. She alleged that Dileep’s lawyers had influenced about 20 witnesses in the case into turning hostile during trial.

The bar council will now seek responses from Dileep’s lawyers, which will be shared with the survivor. A decision will be taken by the council after considering the response of the lawyers and the complainant.

Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court, on Monday, granted conditional bail to Vijeesh, the fourth accused in the assault case. Justice P Gopinath made the ruling taking into consideration the fact that he had served five years in jail and that others accused of playing similar roles in the incident were already out on bail.

On the other hand, on Tuesday, Pulsar Suni, the first accused in the case, who was recently denied bail by the Kerala high court, moved the Supreme Court for the same. He sought bail on the grounds that the further investigation and cross-examination of witnesses in the case could delay the trial.

It may be noted that the High Court has ordered that the investigation in the actor assault case be wrapped up by April 15.

On March 31, the court said that it would pronounce a verdict within one week on Dileep’s plea to either quash the FIR in the conspiracy to murder case or transfer it to the CBI.

For a full timeline of the female actor abduction and assault case, see here.

Bombay HC Stays Summon Against Salman Khan Issued on Journalist’s 2019 Complaint

BY Namrata Ganguly On April 5, 2022

The Bombay High Court granted interim relief to actor Salman Khan, on Tuesday, and stayed till May 5 the summons issued against him by the Andheri Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court based on a journalist’s 2019 complaint.

Journalist Ashok Pandey had accused the actor of criminal intimidation. In his complaint, Pandey alleged that Khan, who was cycling on a street in Mumbai, had snatched his mobile phone when some media persons started clicking the actor’s photos. He further added that Khan had threatened him.

Initially, Pandey had filed a complaint alleging offences under sections 324 (voluntarily hurting by dangerous weapon or means), 392 (punishment for robbery), 426 (punishment for mischief), 506 and 34 (criminal act by several people with common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. He also sought for an FIR to be registered.

But, the magistrate had turned down the request for an FIR and instead directed that the police carry out an investigation under section 202 of the CrPC to ensure if there was sufficient grounds to proceed with a case against Khan and his bodyguard.

After investigation, the police had reported that only offences under sections 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC were made out and process was issued accordingly.

The magistrate court had also issued summons to the actor, returnable on Tuesday.

However, Khan had challenged the magistrate court’s order issuing the summons and moved the High Court seeking to quash the proceedings.

On Tuesday, when hearing the actor’s petition, the High Court stayed the magistrate’s order that summoned Khan and his bodyguard Nawaz Shaikh.

The court made the ruling after noting the improvements made to Pandey’s complaint. The court added that being a journalist, he should not have kept quiet and all his allegations should have been mentioned in his first complaint itself.

Khan’s counsel had pointed out that on April 24, 2019, the day of the incident, a complaint was sent to the police in which the journalist had claimed that his phone was snatched, whereas in the criminal complaint to the magistrate, several changes were made.

Khan’s counsel also argued that the actor had merely asked his bodyguard to stop Pandey from clicking pictures, and so, if anyone was to be prosecuted, it should be the bodyguard and not Khan.

Me Too: Japanese Filmmaker Sion Sono Faces Multiple Sexual Harassment Allegations

BY Shrija Ganguly On April 5, 2022

Japanese filmmaker Sion Sono, who directed actor Nicholas Cage in Prisoners of the Ghostland, has been slapped with multiple allegations of sexual harassment from various female actors, in what can be called Japan’s delayed initiation into the ‘Me Too’ movement.

Japanese magazine Shukan Josei Prime reported that several female actors accused the director of films like Love Exposure of making sexual advances towards “most of his leading ladies.”

“Even now, there is a director who has no qualms about saying, ‘If you screw me, I’ll give you work’. His films are acclaimed and many actresses want to appear in them. He uses that to assault women as if it’s nothing. That director is Sion Sono,” an executive at a Japanese film distribution company told the magazine.

An unnamed female actor recounted her experiences with Sono and told the publication that he had tried to force her to have sex with him, soon after offering her a role in one of his films. When she refused, Sono reportedly called in another woman, who had worked with him before, and proceeded to engage in sexual acts with her in the former’s presence.

The actor went on to add that Sono told her about several women who had been sexually involved with him for many years since they wanted to work with him and said they had garnered success in the industry by doing so.

Another unnamed actor said that Sono had coerced her into sex in exchange for work. Sono had allegedly said, “I want to screw you while you’re talking to your boyfriend on the phone.” When she told him that she did not have a boyfriend, the director had reportedly responded, “Well, get one, I like that kind of thing.”

Allegations against Sono surfaced a month after Japanese director Hideo Sakaki and actor Houka Kinoshita faced similar allegations from multiple women. Sakaki’s film, Honeymoon, that deals with sexual abuse, has been put on hold since.

Sono rose to prominence with the 2001 horror film Suicide Club, which follows a series of interconnected mass suicides. It earned him the prize for Most Ground-Breaking Film at the Fantasia Film Festival, and even birthed a manga adaptation.

This was followed by Love Exposure (2008), which bagged the FIPRESCI Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival, and Why Don’t You Play In Hell? (2013), that earned him recognition at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The 60-year-old director is yet to respond to the allegations raised against him.

ICC Not Just to Deal with Sexual Harassment Complaints but to Ensure Fair Treatment for All: Rima Kallingal

BY Chandhini R On April 5, 2022

Rima Kallingal, actor-producer and founding member of Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), has stressed that the purpose of Internal Complaint Committees (ICC) is not just to deal with sexual harassment complaints but to ensure all workers are treated in a fair manner.

Her statement came at an open forum held at the regional International Film Festival of Kerala in Kochi, on Monday. The five-day festival began on April 1.

The discussion on Monday was on the topic, ‘Implementation of the Internal Complaint Committee (ICC/IC) in the Malayalam film industry’. Speaking at the event, Kallingal noted that her home banner, which produced Virus in 2019, had established an ICC on its sets.

“It is the easiest thing to do. All we need is the will to ensure a fair workspace. It cannot be confined to sexual harassment alone. Every worker needs a space to complain about any type of unfair treatment. It is unbelievable that the film industry in a state like Kerala had no ICC for all these years,” she said.

She added that the WCC has urged the implementation of ICC for the benefit of each and every worker, but especially women, as they are usually a minority on film sets.

Further, Kallingal highlighted the need for sensitisation within the industry. “There needs to be an understanding of what sexual harassment is and what actions amount to harassment. Film unions should conduct proper sessions covering these topics, as most people are unaware of it, even while facing harassment. It is our responsibility to share knowledge about this as well as the Vishaka guidelines.”

Lawyer Maya Krishnan, who was also part of the discussion, explained the procedure and legalities of forming an ICC and noted that the committee will not just be restricted to resolving issues but will also cover other aspects related to the employment of a person. Kallingal mentioned that Krishnan was one of the members of the first ICC that her team had formed.

The WCC was founded by a group of female artists and technicians from the Malayalam film industry, including actors Manju Warrier, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Geethu Mohandas, and editor Bina Paul, in the aftermath of the 2017 female actor abduction and sexual assault incident.

One of their primary goals was the establishment of ICC/Grievance Redressal Cell in the Malayalam film industry. In response to the plea moved by them at the Kerala High Court, an order was passed recently, directing film bodies and production houses to set up ICCs. Following this, Kerala Minister for Culture Saji Cherian announced that a draft law to address sexual harassment in the Malayalam film industry would be prepared within a month.