Thiruvananthapuram: A gaping moral hole has formed in the heart of the mass signature campaign against Mohanlal. “How can I ever sign anything against Mohanlal,” actor Prakash Raj, the first signatory, said. Cinematographer Santhosh Thundiyil said he was tricked into signing the statement.
If a moral void has formed on the signature campaign, it is not because Prakash Raj or Thundiyil cried foul. Bigger names like NS Madhavan have come out and said they knew who the star was. So if the campaign has been morally weakened, it is only because those behind the move ran for cover and used the coward's alibi; it was the media that used Mohanlal's name, they said.
Here is what Dr Biju, whose Facebook post three days back had actually triggered the campaign, wrote on his FB page on Tuesday after Prakash Raj objected: “Just read the statement in full. There is not a mention of any star. It was a general stand that we took. But after the media rakes up a controversy in the name of a particular star and then ask someone whether they have signed a petition against Mohanlal it is only natural that the answer would be no.”
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Now read what he, apparently seething with anger, wrote on his FB page on July 21: “So when Indrans became the best actor, Mohanal is chief guest. So next year when Mohanlal or Mammootty or Nivin Pauly or Prithviraj or Dulquer Salman or Fahadh Faasil is chosen as the best actor will Indrans or Salim Kumar or Vinayakan be the chief guest?" Meaning: Mohanlal's name was first revealed by none other than Dr Biju himself.
The hypocrisy is this. Most signatories including Dr Biju had told Onmanorama on July 23 that it was the invite given to Mohanlal that had forced them to initiate the campaign. The Women in Cinema Collective members became signatories because they vehemently objected to the presence of the AMMA president at the awards function where their leading lights, like Parvathy, will be receiving prizes. Therefore, it was not an amorphous concept called 'star' they were fighting. It was a proper noun, Mohanlal, they had in mind.
The campaign leaders but were smart. They couched the joint statement in high-flown indirect prose. But informally made sure that the media did not miss who their target was.
However, when Prakash Raj growled, they seemed to have lost their poise. Dr Biju's sudden defensiveness even gives the impression that the campaign leaders had tricked some top names, just like Thundiyil had charged. But Dr Biju's philosophical sophistication sounds laughable when placed alongside the unflappable boldness of bigger names in the signatory list.
Social activists M N Karassery and Sunil P Ilayidom have openly stated that they knew the 'star' was Mohanlal. Writer N S Madhavan told Onmanorama that though the actor was unnamed he knew who it was. “I didn't see the petition as a protest against Mohanlal. I was more concerned about the conflict of interest involved as his films had contested for the awards. I also wanted the ceremony to be kept as a state function with the chief minister presiding,” he said.
In fact, even before the joint statement was drafted, Madhavan had tweeted his disappointment with the possibiilty of “the misogynist A.M.M.A president giving away the awards to Indrans and Parvathy.”
Moral of the story: “Selective protest”, a term Dr Biju himself uses in his July 21 post, will not take campaigns too far.
