The Kerala Film Producers Association (KFPA) has withdrawn the ban against actor Sreenath Bhasi, according to reports. The actor, seen in Malayalam cinema, was banned after an interview he gave to an online channel had created a row, and he was accused of using foul language against a female anchor of the channel. Sreenath was briefly arrested by the police in Kochi, after the woman gave a complaint, and was later released on bail. The KFPA had imposed the ban soon after the case was filed against him.
The interview was held as part of the promotions for his film Chattambi which released in the last week of September. A clip of the video released by the channel showed Sreenath getting agitated after a few questions revolving around the title of the film. The crew shooting the interview later alleged that the actor had showered them all with a volley of abuses after asking them to switch off the camera. The female anchor lodged a police complaint after which he was charged with sexual harassment, obscenity in public and insulting the modesty of a woman. Within days, he approached the Kerala High Court, asking for the case against him to be quashed on account of him having settled the matter with the complainant out of court.
A few days later, actor Mammootty was asked if it was right that Sreenath was denied work and he said that it was not. Mammootty said that he thought there was no ban on Sreenath and that nobody should be banned. However, the KFPA’s ban had remained in place for nearly two months more.
The ban does not seem to have affected the actor’s work. Last week, a new film of Sreenath, a comedy titled Padachone Ingalu Katholi, was released. Also a singer, he will be performing for a music fest in Kochi in January 2023.