Malayalam actor Dileep has tasted phenomenal success at the box office, with most of his movies beign runway hits. He had build up a huge fan following and earned the tag – Janapriya nayakan (people's hero). But after his sensational arrest in the actress attack case, the star seems to be is loosing out on his huge fan base. His image of the being the 'people's hero' has taken a severe hit.
People, who religiously borrowed CDs from video shops, are giving Dileep’s films a skip.
"I was at a video shop yesterday and when the owner told me that Dileep's latest film 'Georgechettan's Poorem' CDs are available, I felt I should not see it and took another CD instead. The shop owner told me that his several customers now refuse to rent out a Dileep film," a schoolteacher, who didn't wish to be identified, told IANS.
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A few TV channels that were slated to air Dileep's films, are understood to have changed these at the last minute following his arrest. They fear airing his movies would have an adverse impact on the channels' ratings.
Dileep, who has acted in more than 130 films, was the third most popular superstar in the Malayalam film industry after Mammootty and Mohanlal, but as a film producer he stood at the number one position. He also owns a string of multiplexes.
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He has been remanded in judicial custody for 14 days since Monday night. The police had arrested Pulsar Suni, who had worked as a driver of many film personalities, six days after the young actress was brutally assaulted in a moving car in Koci in February. A letter which Pulsar Suni purportedly wrote to actor Dileep had caused a furore.
Dileep had undergone a marathon 13-hour grilling at the Aluva police club days ahead of his arrest. The actor had approached the police saying that the prime accused tried to blackmail him from jail. Things went awry for Dileep after the police found discrepancies in his statements.
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(With inputs from IANS)
