One actor was removed in 2018 for misconduct: Jude Anthany
I removed an actor from my 2018 film because he misbehaved with a woman, says Jude Anthany Joseph. (X)
Amid shocking revelations about sexual harassment of several actresses in Malayalam cinema, filmmaker Jude Anthany Joseph has announced that he has removed an actor from one of his films for misbehaving with an up-and-coming artist.
Jude Anthany Joseph told a news channel that he had dropped an actor who had been cast in a prominent role in his film. 2018: Everyone is a hero (2024) after he behaved inappropriately towards a young artist.
The director explained that during filming 2018: Everyone is a herohe noticed an actor misbehaving with a young artist. Although the actor played an important role in the film, the filmmaker decided to remove all of his scenes to ensure a respectful work environment. “After this incident, I removed his scenes from the film.”
Jude Anthany Joseph said the actor was cast for one of the important roles with many continuity scenes throughout the film. But the filmmaker decided to replace him and reshoot those scenes with another actor.
The Malayalam director did not reveal the name of the actor. However, he hinted that those who saw the film 2018: Everyone is a hero One can pay attention to a character whose screen time decreases towards the end of the film.
Also read: A day after his resignation, Malayalam actor Siddique files complaint against Revathy Sampath
Increase in complaints of sexual harassment
Shortly after the much-delayed Hema Judicial Committee report was released last week, more actresses and aspiring artists began speaking out about their harrowing experiences of sexual harassment and abuse in the Malayalam film industry.
Most of them openly named the culprits – several senior actors, directors and technicians – and demanded that they be brought to justice immediately.
Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) General Secretary Siddique and Kerala Chalachitra Academy Chairman and filmmaker Ranjith resigned from their posts following allegations of sexual harassment.
Young actress Reveathy Sampath alleged that Siddique sexually harassed her in 2016 under the pretext of offering a Tamil film.
Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra accused Ranjith of misbehaving with him during an audition for his film Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathira Kolapathakathinte Katha.
Malayalam actors Jayasurya, Mukesh, Maniyanpilla Raju, Baburaj and director Thulasidas are also accused of sexual abuse.
(Edited by Y Krishna Jyothi)
Also read: ‘Cannot comment on alleged sexual misconduct in Mollywood,’ says Kerala minister KB Ganesh Kumar
