A significant controversy has erupted after CPI(M) member Mohammed Sharshad Baniyandy accused Malayalam superstar Mammootty of being a “Jihadi.”
In a recent interview, the Chennai-based businessman alleged that his estranged wife, Ratheena PT, and scriptwriter Harshad conspired to produce an anti-Hindu and anti-“upper-caste” film starring Mammootty. According to a report by the Pioneer, Ratheena was allegedly coerced by Mammootty into directing a film that portrays Hindus in a negative light using the caste angle.
The film at the center of this controversy is the 2022 Malayalam release “Puzhu,” in which Mammootty portrays an “upper-caste” IPS officer who harbors animosity towards his sister for marrying a Dalit man. Sharshad claimed, “Puzhu generated some controversy in Kerala, but the producer profited greatly. Ratheena was originally working on a different script but was directed by Mammootty to take on the Puzhu project. She had intended to create a light-hearted entertainer, but Mammootty’s influence changed the course of her project.”
He further accused the film’s writer, Harshad, of being an “Islamic extremist.”
Sharshad also stated that Mammootty was supposed to work on another script by Ratheena, but the Puzhu project was hurriedly initiated instead. He expressed his concerns about his wife’s involvement in her first major film, claiming it misrepresented upper-caste characters. Sharshad suggested that his estranged wife was influenced by “external interventions” that planted the controversial idea. Reports indicate that Ratheena secured a restraining order against Sharshad in a domestic violence case.
Mammootty, who has been the chairman of the CPI(M)-backed news channel Kairali TV since 2000, is well-known for his close association with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. In 2007, Mammootty attended a conference of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and remarked that if DYFI-CPI(M)’s youth wing had been active in Gujarat, the 2002 riots would not have occurred. This comment led to backlash from both the BJP and Congress, with demonstrators tearing down his posters. Pinarayi Vijayan defended Mammootty, stating that the CPI(M) would “resist attempts to silence him.”
Following Sharshad’s allegations about Mammootty’s supposed links to Jihadi organizations, both CPI(M) and Congress leaders defended the actor. CPI(M) MLA KT Jaleel, a former minister and past president of the banned Islamist group SIMI, criticized the RSS-BJP for the “Jihadi” accusations against Mammootty. Additionally, Kerala ministers V Sivankutty and K Rajan, along with Congress leader KC Venugopal, voiced their support for the actor amid the social media uproar. CPI(M) leaders hailed Mammootty as a pride of Kerala and accused “Sangh Parivar politics” of being behind the online attacks on the actor.
(With inputs from OPINDIA)
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