Actress Amala Paul, whose recent release 'The Teacher' is getting an excellent response, was denied entry at the Thiruvairanikulam Mahadeva Temple, triggering a row. The incident came to light after photos of the actor writing about her experience in the temple's visitors' register started doing the rounds on social media.
“I am sad and disappointed that in 2023, religious discrimination still exists. I hope there will be a change in religious discrimination soon. The time will come and we all will be treated equally and not on the basis of religion." the actress wrote.
Meanwhile, Prasoon Kumar, secretary of the Thiruvairanikulam Mahadeva Temple Trust, told Onmanorama, that the temple permits entry only to Hindus as per religious custom. “Amala Paul had come to the temple on Monday evening for darshan. She had sought a pass to stand in the VVIP queue. When this came to our notice, she was directed to the office, following which we told her that non-Hindus are not permitted entry into the temple as per religious customs,” he said.
According to him, he had checked whether Amala had converted to Hinduism after her marriage to Tamil film director A L Vijay. The couple later separated in 2017.
“When she told us that she had not converted to Hinduism, we informed her about the temple custom and also stated that she could offer prayers to the Devi from outside the temple wall. We also offered to give her the payasam reserved for VVIPs at the office,” added Prasoon.
She was then told by the office staff to write about her experience in the visitors' registrar. “She said she would write about her experience after paying obeisance outside the temple wall. These photos were circulated on social media.”
Temple authorities said Amala Paul came there without knowing about the temple customs.
