'I stand by what I said': Vismaya Mohanlal defends Delhi student protest remarks

Vismaya Mohanlal has reaffirmed her support for the student protests in Delhi, weeks after facing a barrage of online abuse over her social media post on the issue.

In a recent interview with FTQ with Rekha Menon, the actor said she has no regrets about expressing her views and continues to stand by what she wrote. Vismaya said she believes India is a democracy where people should always have the freedom to question and be heard. She stressed that dialogue should take precedence over force and added that politics should never override humanity. She also maintained that her stance would remain the same regardless of which political party was in power.

Vismaya had earlier shared an Instagram story urging people to reflect on the state of democracy in the country amid the protests. While clarifying that one need not agree with the protesters or support their demands, she argued that the use of force instead of dialogue against citizens exercising their democratic rights should concern everyone.

In her post, she said people were not obligated to agree with the protesters or endorse their demands. However, she argued that when citizens raising their voices are met with overwhelming force instead of dialogue, it is important to question what that says about the country's democracy.

The post triggered strong reactions online, with several social media users criticising the actor. Some described her as "an embarrassment" to her father, Mohanlal, while others posted abusive and derogatory comments targeting both Vismaya and the veteran actor.

Filmmaker Major Ravi also weighed in on the controversy at the time, suggesting that Vismaya's comments were not politically motivated. Saying he had known her since childhood, Ravi remarked that she did not possess the political awareness to form a nuanced opinion on the issue and believed her reaction stemmed from empathy after witnessing the human suffering surrounding the protests.

However, Vismaya's latest remarks make it clear that her position has not changed.