Thrissur: Actor turned politician Suresh Gopi has announced that he will invite dancer RLV Ramakrishnan for a performance at his ancestral temple festival. Ramakrishnan, brother of late actor Kalabhavan Mani, was recently subjected to colour-tinged casteist remarks by renowned classical dancer Kalamandalam Sathyabhama.
Ramakrishnan expressed thanks to Gopi for offering the venue.
In an interview published on a YouTube channel, Sathyabhama earlier remarked that it was annoying to see men performing Mohiniyattam and that Ramakrishnan had the “colour of a crow”.
Amid mass outrage against Sathyabhama’s comment, Suresh Gopi said that he would be calling Ramakrishnan for a dance event with reward. Gopi, the BJP candidate from the Thrissur constituency for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, also expressed that he was not willing to join any side of the controversy. The actor also rejected any attempts to politicise the matter and suggested the controversies are attempts to distract from the public dissatisfaction with the current government.
After Ramakrishnan took to social media, and stated he was offended by Sathyabhama’s comments, he received widespread support from the public. Ramakrishnan is set to move with the legal procedures.
Ramakrishnan had previously sought the assistance of the Scheduled Castes Commission after his application to pursue a PhD was unjustly rejected by the Kalamandalam governing body, of which Sathyabhama was a part. Later Sathyabhama resigned from her position.
