Malayalam actress Anushree known for her roles in movies such as Oppam, Maheshinte Prathikaram, and Madhura Raja spoke in support of Hindus at a public function organized as part of the ‘Ganesholsavam’ celebrations in Palakkad on 23 August 2023.
We applaud Actress Anushree's courage to fight the narrative that Hindus lack the backbone to stand up for their beliefs. Amid personal and professional challenges, she's redefining faith as strength, not weakness, shaping identity. In a world of labels, she teaches us: having a… pic.twitter.com/E9UYSMFEVr
— BJP KERALAM (@BJP4Keralam) August 23, 2023
Speaking to the audience concerning the controversial remarks on Hindu deities by Kerala Assembly Speaker, AN Shamseer, Anushree said, “Everyone must understand one thing. When someone sitting somewhere says something, he cannot change a belief. A non-believer can never convert a believer because we are not the ones who become devotees in one or two days. isn’t it? did you become a believer/devotee in just one day? No. The things we saw from our birth, the rituals we saw while growing up. because of it, we became believers over a long period. So when someone sitting somewhere says that Ganapathy is a made-up story or Devi is a cooked-up story and a myth, can he convert us from a believer to a nonbeliever? will we lose our beliefs? No. When my brother Unni spoke at the Mahaganapthy temple yesterday, he said, Why is everyone harming us alone? Why are they hurting our emotions and beliefs? Someone somewhere thinks or they have a misconception that we are not brave enough. Are we cowards? No. When this huge crowd gathers here, we exhibit that we are indeed brave. When someone sitting somewhere talks in this manner, we feel sad. Why are they making us upset when we never do that to others? Every citizen has the right to protect his rituals and beliefs. Then why are others hurting our emotions?”
Anushree said that the stage was a blessing of Lord Ganapathy to register her protest for those remarks. The actress also recalled how she was called a bigot, trolled, and bullied when she dressed up as Bharat Mata during Srikrishna Jayanti celebrations conducted by Balagokulam, an organisation attached to the Sangh Parivar.
Prominent Malayalam film actress Anushri dressed up as Bharat Mata in Balagokulam Shobha Yatra. Despite Marxist-Jihadi cyber bullying, every year she participates in Shobha Yatra organised by her home Balagokulam unit #Janmashtami2019 #Janmashtami #SreeKrishnaJayanthi pic.twitter.com/goGLIVX0kB
— Ex-Comrade ☭ (@excomradekerala) August 23, 2019
She said, “After I appeared as Bharat Mata in that event, no one knows the trouble I faced in my personal as well as professional life for the next one to two years. To be frank, I hesitated to attend related to a temple. Because I used to get discriminated and trolled against on Facebook, Instagram, and public places, the way people behaved with me and I got cornered in many situations. So I used to avoid participating in such events. When I came to know a particular event was related to a temple, I would say that I wouldn’t attend it. Then I started contemplating this, how long do we stay afraid? Why or who should be afraid to say that we are Hindus or since we are born as Hindu, we respect our rituals? Never be afraid. When I get afraid, everyone else gets afraid too. We must never embrace that fear. Each and everyone is born with their religion and beliefs. We are also the same, we are Hindus and we have a belief. Let us live our lives with those beliefs. We are saying this as a request. But sometimes I feel that it is good that someone sitting somewhere creates trouble for us. because it creates an opportunity to exhibit our unity. When I think in this way, I take such things on a positive note. Because we are not spineless. Our spines are strong. If we have to protest, we will protest in a good way. And our response will be conveyed well. I believe each one of you has courage. I assure you that I will respond in my own way, and will do all possible things from my side if there is any act that harms my religion and my faith. that includes Lord Ganesha and other gods that I believe in.”
A few days before this event, actor Unni Mukundan also participated in an event at the Kottarakara Mahaganapathi temple. He said, “What is the major concern for Hindus? They have turned into fearless and resilient individuals, In the vast realm of India, everyone has the right to express all sorts of opinions; this is its beauty. However, we need to consider who is the speaker, who the audience is, and for whom these statements are intended. I personally, am a believer and somewhat sensitive. I recognize that it isn’t problematic when someone voices their disbelief in God. The failure, experienced by me and others alike is that we accept such challenges without much resistance.
He also added, “Today, they may assert that Ganapati is a myth; yesterday, it was Ayyappan; tomorrow, they might declare Krishna as mythical, and then Shiva could be labelled a myth. Ultimately, they could even designate you as a myth. It’s crucial to be attentive to all these statements. I have only one thing to say, you must comprehend the circumstances and proceed with your rituals. No one even dares to criticize the rituals of believers in other religions or their deities. This is the approach you should adopt.”
The CPIM refused to remove AN Shamseer from the Speaker post and didn’t even ask him to apologise/retract his comments that have hurt Hindu religious sentiments.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.