Actor Prithviraj breaks his silence on the sacking of assistant director accused of rape
Actor Prithviraj Sukumaran has clarified in a statement that as soon as he learnt that he was accused of raping and drugging a junior artiste, he asked the assistant director to leave the set.
Actor Prithviraj Sukumaran has reacted to allegations that he continued to work with a sex offender in his film despite a police complaint. The popular Malayalam actor said the assistant director who was accused of raping and drugging a junior artiste was “asked to leave” immediately after he found out about the incident.
According to a report published in OnmanoramaThe actor responded to a journalist in a WhatsApp message and clarified that he also told the accused to appear before the police and be ready to face the law. He said, “I came to know about this matter when my chief associate director told me that such a complaint has been filed with the police against the said assistant director. This happened at the beginning of ‘Empuran’ filming in October 2023, a few days after the first schedule.”
“I was not aware of the incident or the reasons for the complaint till then. The assistant director was instructed to leave the set the same day, appear before the police and face the law,” Prithviraj said.
The matter has come to the fore again after the Justice Hema Committee report recently exposed several sexual predators in the Malayalam film industry. A junior artiste from Telangana said on Friday that asianet news In 2023 she was raped and drugged by assistant director Mansoor Rasheed during the shooting of ‘Bro Daddy’ which was directed by Prithviraj and featured her and Mohanlal in the lead roles.
Mansoor kept blackmailing the woman
The woman said that she was staying in a hotel with other supporting actors when Mansoor gave her a sedative drink and later came to her room and raped her. She said that he also took obscene pictures and videos of her and later used them to blackmail her. The complainant said that he extorted money from her several times and even though she lodged a police complaint against him, no action was taken then.
The victim said she saw Rasheed getting new opportunities and even working as an assistant director in Prithviraj’s next film ‘L2: Empuraan’, a sequel to Mohanlal-starrer ‘Lucifer’.
The police were not able to catch Rasheed later, who fled from his house. The woman said that she had lodged a complaint at the Gachibowli police station in Hyderabad, and also accused him of rape, but he escaped with the help of his political connections. She also said that the accused continued to work with several prominent people of the Malayalam film industry even after the police registered a case against him for assault.
Mansoor escaped due to political connections
The woman also said that she also approached Minister Saji Cherian and another senior CPM leader, but no one helped her get justice. She concluded by saying that even though she fears for her life after exposing the culprit and his alleged political connections, she will file a detailed complaint with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) through email in the case.
Prithviraj had earlier spoken in favour of the Hema Committee report. He was one of the vocal supporters of the Malayalam actress who was sexually assaulted in 2017. A part of his recent statement about the report read, “By any means, these allegations should be taken with utmost seriousness. This is the beginning of a process that will clear all doubts and allegations. I am not surprised by the Hema Committee report. I am one of the people who gave a statement on the formation of that committee.”
Director Ranjith, CPM MLA Mukesh and former AMMA general secretary Siddique are among some of those being investigated for sexual harassment allegations levelled by women from the Malayalam film industry.
