Renowned Malayalam filmmaker Vinayan has written to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, opposing the inclusion of B Unnikrishnan—producer, director, and general secretary of the Film Employees Federation of India—in the film policy committee constituted in 2023. The State's Minister for Culture Affairs Saji Cherian had on August 10 spoken in the Assembly about the government's plan to formulate a film policy with the help of the committee, headed by veteran filmmaker Shaji N Karun. Vinayan's letter is against the inclusion of Unnikrishnan, who, he points out, has been found guilty by the Supreme Court of denial of work opportunities and illegal bans in 2020.
Filmmaker Aashiq Abu has also come in support of Vinayan, urging the government to not have someone like Unnikrishnan, who has “shown a feudalistic temperament while putting on a facade of being a leftist”, in the committee. Aashiq has been critical of the FEFKA for taking as long as they did to respond to the Hema Committee report, that detailed the issues faced by women in cinema, after it came out on August 19. The FEFKA’s first response came only on Wednesday, August 28.
Vinayan, in his letter appreciating the government for forming the Hema Committee to understand the issues in Malayalam cinema, pointed out that pages 137 to 141 of the Hema Committee's report mentioned his case at the Competition Commission of India, about unfairly losing work opportunities.
In 2008, actor Dileep had refused to work with a director after taking an advance of Rs 40 lakh from him and the director had then approached the Malayalam Cine Technicians Association (MACTA) for justice. The MACTA, headed by Vinayan, had stood with the director. But Dileep allegedly wielded his influence to have the MACTA dissolved and replaced it with the Film Employees Federation of India (FEFKA) which favoured him. Vinayan had then faced an unofficial ban in the industry when actors in the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (A.M.M.A.) were asked not to work with him.
It was after this that Vinayan approached the Competition Commission of India. The Commission had found merit in his case and imposed fines on film associations like the A.M.M.A., FEFKA and office bearers like directors B Unnikrishnan and Sibi Malayil, and actors Innocent and Edavela Babu. B Unnikrishnan was then, and still continues to be, the general secretary of FEFKA. They had appealed against the Commission's verdict at the Supreme Court. However the Court dismissed the plea and upheld the Commission's penalty, after which the fines were paid, Vinayan writes.
Stating that the SC verdict proved the accused including Unnikrishnan were guilty of the charges levelled against them, Vinayan urges the government to remove Unnikrishnan from the film policy Committee.