While the much-talked about movie Kasaba is still running in theaters, the film has been accused of being misogynist by several women rights activists, including those at the helm of affairs of the Kerala Women's Commission.
While the Mammootty-starrer has found itself at the centre of a controversy, director Nithin Renji Panicker opens up about his stance on the issue:
Is Kasaba an anti-woman movie?
Never. Kasaba is a reflection of society. If the society does have anti-woman elements, then the same has been showcased in the film too. Is our women really getting all recognitions and rewards that a woman should be receiving from the society? When someone says such things about the movie, one ought to think about these too.
Woman's commission has slammed the movie for the sexist elements in it. How do you see that?
Cinema is an art. The commission before heading for a legal battle must think about the problems that the woman in our society are facing and must take actions against such atrocities. The people who are pointing fingers against the movie had once maintained silence when a woman like Jisha had to encounter a cruel murder. I am ready to face all consequences but they must make sure that such issues do not prevail in our society anymore.
The women's penel's chair said she never expected Mammootty to entertain such misogynist dialogues.
I am not the one to comment on that. And neither Mammootty nor me are people who talks such things in our day-to-day life. It was how the character was meant to be. People like that character are there in the society. Is a hero always supposed to present the good side?
Do you think these controversies will influence woman viewers?
After such remarks, women might think twice before going to watch Kasaba. In the movie, Mammootty's character has never tried to harm or insult a woman's image. It's how the way the character is formed and behaves.