Drug abuse case: Increased police presence on Malayalam film sets
The Malayalam film industry has been rocked by allegations of drug use among young actors. Reportedly, the Kerala Film Producers' Association (KFPA) and other film bodies recently banned actors Shane Nigam and Sreenath Bhasi. Responding to disclosures about alleged drug use in Mollywood, Kochi City Police Commissioner K Sethu Raman announced on Sunday cops would be deployed at all shooting locations in the city.
'AMMA and police have the complete list of drug users'
In an interaction with Movie World Media, Mollywood actor and an executive committee member of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), Baburaj, revealed that the organization and the police have the complete list of drug users. "Once, a person who was caught...gave a statement, and an excise officer chased the car of a big actor. These are the bare truths," he stated.
Earlier, Tiny Tom made scathing remarks against co-actors
During the Kerala University Youth Festival inauguration recently, actor Tiny Tom, also an executive member of the AMMA, painted a grim picture and expressed his concerns about his son's safety if he decided to enter the Malayalam film industry. Reacting to his statements, actor-director Dhyan Sreenivasan stated, "No one force-feeds drugs...if Tiny Tom's son knows it is wrong to use it, he won't."
It all started when Mollywood unions barred 2 young actors
On April 25, young stars Nigam and Bhasi were reportedly banned by Mollywood unions for their alleged involvement in drug abuse, which sparked a debate within the industry. The KFPA, Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA), and AMMA made the unanimous decision not to let the actors undertake any future projects after producer M Renjith reportedly complained about their alleged professional misconduct on sets.
Bhasi was arrested in 2022 for verbally abusing anchor
To recall, in 2022, the Kerala Police arrested Bhasi in connection with a complaint filed by a female anchor who alleged he verbally abused her during a promotional interview for his film Chattambi. After stopping the shoot, off-camera, he reportedly abused the crew and the anchor and didn't apologize for his behavior. Reportedly, the police stated he acted out under the influence of drugs.
Nigam was banned by KFPA in 2019
Over the past few years, Nigam, too, has faced several controversies. In 2019, he was banned by the KFPA after he had an altercation with the producer of the film Veyil, Joby George, after he changed his hairstyle mid-shoot. Later, Nigam alleged that the producer had threatened to kill him. The association banned him as he caused loss to both Veyil and Qurubani producers.
