03 September,2024 07:28 PM IST | Kerala | mid-day online correspondent
Nivin Pauly is one of the most popular stars in Malayalam cinema
In a development that has shocked many fans of Malayalam cinema, a sexual assault case has been filed against actor Nivin Pauly. A female actor has filed a complaint with the Ernakulam Rural SP, who directed the Oonnukal Police District to register a case. Nivin Pauly is named the sixth accused while producer AK Sunil is the second accused.
The complainant, from Neryamangalam, a village in Ernakulam district in Kerala, has alleged that Pauly sexually assaulted her abroad under the pretext of offering her a movie role, reported Mathrubhumi.
Nivin Pauly is well known for playing the boy next door archetype in several south films, following roles in the bilingual black-comedy thriller Neram (2013), the sports-drama 1983 (2014), the romantic-comedy Ohm Shanthi Oshaana (2014), the romantic-drama Bangalore Days (2014), the comedy road-thriller Oru Vadakkan Selfie (2015), and the coming-of-age romantic drama Premam (2015), which is among the top 10 highest-grossing Malayalam films.
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Fans of the actor are in shock after news broke of the sexual assault case.
Multiple FIRs have been registered against many high-profile Malayalam film personalities following allegations of sexual harassment against various directors and actors in the wake of revelations in the Justice K Hema Committee report. The committee was constituted by the Kerala government after the 2017 actress assault case and its report revealing instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry.
Following the allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation cropping up against several actors and directors, the state government on August 25 announced the establishment of a seven-member special investigation team to probe them.
As of now, FIRs have been registered against nine film personalities, which include Mukesh, Siddique, Jayasurya, Edavela Babu, Maniyan Pillai Raju, directors Ranjith, VK Prakash, production executives Vichu and Noble after several actresses registered complaints.
Malayalam director Ranjith Balakrishnan has approached the Kerala High Court to grant him anticipatory bail on an alleged sexual harassment complaint against him by Bengali actress Sreelekha Mitra. Ranjith is accused of attempting to allegedly molest and sexually assault the actress in the year 2009 under the pretext of a movie audition for "Paleri Manikyam". The actress had filed a complaint with the Kochi city police against the director a day after he had resigned as the chairman of the Kerala State Chalachithra Academy.
The allegations surfaced after the publication of Justice Hema Committee Report on August 19, 2024. The report revealed extensive information on sexual abuse, casting couch and exploitation practices that exist within the industry on multiple levels.
