The name of director Liju Krishna, the filmmaker accused of raping a woman who helped him in the sets of the movie Padavettu, has been retained in the titles of the film. The survivor, who is learnt to be in really poor health conditions, had requested the production team of Yoodlee Films (of Saregama Ltd) to remove his name from the credits as the film is set for release. This is Liju Krishna’s first feature film as a director.
The survivor had filed a case of sexual assault against Liju Krishna earlier this year at the Kakkanad police station in Ernakulam. Within days, Liju was arrested from the sets of his film in Thrissur. The film has actors Nivin Pauly and Aditi Balan playing the lead. Actor Sunny Wayne is also a producer of Padavettu.
In a recent interview that came on Mathrubhumi, the survivor spoke out about her plight after the assault, reduced to half her weight and suffering from severe mental health issues. She found it too hard to take that while she was going through this trauma, the accused man was reveling in the release of the film. A demand she made through media reports is that his name be removed from the credits.
After the survivor’s story came out, another woman, who had attended an ‘audition’ of the film for the female lead character told TNM that she later found out that the whole event was fake. The makers had already decided on the lead role – to be played by Aditi Balan – when the woman was called for an audition at a resort in Kannur. At the time, Liju Krishna was present briefly for the audition but left soon, leaving matters in the hands of executive producer Bibin Paul, she said. Bibin had delayed dropping the woman at her bus stop, causing her to miss the bus, and then allegedly made an attempt of sexual assault while she was sleeping in the night.