Malayalam actor Hareesh Peradi was dropped at the last minute from an event organised by the Purogamana Kala Sahithya Sangham, a collective of artistes and writers supporting the ruling CPM. The reason – the actor had dared to criticise Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan a few days ago.
Peradi was scheduled to inaugurate a session of an event commemorating late playwright Santhan in Kozhikode on Thursday. However, he was told by the organisers to stay away from the function when he was on his way to Kozhikode. Peradi himself shared the news on social media on Friday which was in turn confirmed by the organisers.
“At least three or four groups organise commemorative events of Santhan in Kozhikode and all of them had called me knowing well about the bonding I had with him. However, I decided to attend Purogamana Kala Sahithya Sangham's programme as they had invited me first. I reached my house at Ernakulam on Wednesday after taking leave from the shooting of a Tamil film in Coimbatore. On Thursday morning, I left for Kozhikode. When I was midway I got a call from the organisers who told me it was better not to attend the event in the particular political circumstances,” he told Manorama News.
“We are living at a time when a lot of fight is happening to protect the freedom of expression. Purogamana Kala Sahithya Sangham is also part of such struggles. When even they have to take such a stance I thought I should inform the public about it,” he said.
Asked about what did the organisation mean by 'the political circumstances', the Left Right Left actor said it was up to them to clarify it.
Peradi, known for voicing his opinions on social and political issues, had recently slammed the chief minister in the wake of the 'unofficial ban' on black clothes and face masks at events attended by the latter. Posting a photo of him wearing a black mask, he had written on Facebook that it was his protest against a coward fascist. TV channels had aired visuals of police personnel removing black masks worn by people who had come to attend some public events in which Vijayan participated recently. The police action, though disowned by the government and the chief minister later, was in the wake of the state-wide protests against him in the wake of the latest controversies over the Thiruvananthapuram gold smuggling scam.
The Purogamana Kala Sahithya Sangham, in its clarification, said on Friday that Peradi was removed from the function as it found the actor's criticism tantamount to insult of the chief minister and the Left front. “Peradi's reaction sounded like he was siding with the right-wing conspiracy (against the chief minister). If he attended the event, it would have sent out a wrong message,” Sangham's Kozhikode district secretary U Hemanth Kumar told media. He regretted informing Peradi at the last minute not to attend the event.
Reacting to the incident, Congress leader V T Balram slammed the organisation in harsh words. “The cultural Kerala need not be surprised about it since it is known that the organisation is only a collective of slaves who only know how to sing paeans of the dictator who rules the state. It is upto other cultural activists who attend their programmes to regain their credibility,” Balram wrote on Facebook.
