PremiumAmal Neerad’s ‘integrity sells for so little’ post on Ram Mandir draws flak, here’s what netizens had to say
On the day of Ram Mandir Pran Prathishtha, several Mollywood celebs including Aashiq Abu and Parvathy Thiruvothu had expressed their protest by posting the Preamble of the Constitution
Last Updated: 01.41 PM, Jan 23, 2024
Malayalam filmmaker Amal Neerad, known for directing films such as Mammootty’s Bheeshma Parvam and Fahadh Faasil's Varathan, was the latest from the industry to protest the Ayodhya Ram Mandir Pran Prathishta through his social media post.
The filmmaker, sharing an old photo of Babri Masjid from the contentious site where the Ayodhya Ram Mandir is now built, posted Alan Moore’s words from V from Vendetta. “Our integrity sells for so little, but it is all that we really have. It is the very last inch of us. But within that inch, we are free,” he captioned the photo.
Amal Neerad’s post on Ram Mandir draws praise and flak
Within minutes of sharing the post on his social media channels, netizens flooded his social media page with comments. Most of them praised the usually coy filmmaker for “taking a stand” and registering his protest.
“This proves there’s someone with spine in the film industry; everyone is scared to express their opinion,” wrote a user. Another commenter posted, “...democracy is also about presenting the pages of history that are not at all innocent and combative.”
A third user shared a newspaper cutting from the day Kar Sevaks had destroyed Babri Masjid, with the caption, “Memories endure eternally. Babri’s memories persist infinitely. The reality of shadows cannot be concealed, no matter how hard try (sic).”
It wasn’t all praise that Amal’s post attracted. Several users also attacked the filmmaker for being “selective” about his comments. “You talk about the image which hurts you so think how much the other religion is hurt whose pillars were found beneath the image you showcased,” wrote a user, calling the director a “hypocrite”.
Others also attacked his left political leanings, and asked why the director did not react to events that happened in Kerala when a communist government was in power. “Where were u when poor people unable to survive not getting their welfare pension.. Where were u when people suicided due to default in harvest payment by ur Left Govt. .So u have ur own selective political views and act as a neutral goer (sic),” the netizen wrote.
Aashiq Abu, Parvathy Thiruvothu and Jeo Baby protest Ram Mandir inauguration
On Monday, several Malayalam celebrities including Aashiq, Rima and Parvathy had shared their protest by posting the photo of the Preamble of the Constitution. Others like RDX actor Shane Nigam and Kaathal: The Core filmmaker Jeo Baby shared a newspaper clipping of BR Ambedkar’s speech – that serve as a clarion call against “old foes in the form of caste and creed” that could divide the country the second time.