Weeks after award-winning Malayalam actor Parvathy saw herself at the receiving end of cyber attack from actor Mammootty's fans for calling out the misogyny his film Kasaba, the senior actor has finally broken his silence.
Although several people from the film industry have by now chosen their camp, some even openly speaking against Parvathy, Mammootty had largely remained silent on the controversy, despite calls from several quarters for him to address his fans.
This, even as a large section of the people and people from the industry, staunchly believed that Mammootty needn't take responsibility to address his fanatic fans and send across a message that cyber trolling in his name is not acceptable.
Speaking exclusively to Manorama on Thursday, Mammootty shared his thoughts on the controversy, that has the film fraternity divided into extremes.
Saying that Parvathy had apprised him of the controversy, Mammootty said that he had consoled the actor on coming to know of the issue. Commenting on the cyber attack, Mammoootty said that he hasn't asked anyone to defend him or his films.
Attempting to play down the cyber attack and the discussions on representation of women in cinema that the controversy has paved way to, Mammootty said:
"I don't entertain controversies, what we need is more worthwhile discussions and debates. I had consoled Parvathy when the controversy erupted. Since I have been touring for a while now, I missed most of the Kasaba controversy."
While he emphasised that he hasn't assigned anyone to defend his films on his behalf, Mammootty also said that the freedom to express one's opinion is as important as the freedom of free speech.
The controversy broke out earlier in December, when Parvathy said that Mammootty's film Kasaba has several dialogues that are demeaning to women. She was speaking at a panel discussion on representation of women in cinema at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK).
Her statements soon snowballed into a major controversy, with the actor receiving death and rape threats on several social media platforms. Parvathy had however, refused to take the trolling lying down, and filed a complaint with the Kerala police. Based on her complaint, the police arrested two persons for sending her threatening messages on social media and booked them under the IT Act.