Filmmaker Sanal Kumar Sasidharan arrested on Manju Warrier’s complaint

Malayalam filmmaker Sanal Kumar Sasidharan, popular for movies such as Sexy Durga and Chola, was taken into police custody in Kochi after actor Manju Warrier complained that he has been blackmailing her and maligning her reputation via social media, police said on Thursday. 

Minutes before a team of police personnel took him into custody based on the actress’ complaint registered at Elamakkara police station in Kochi, the director appeared on Facebook live claiming that his life was at risk and some people were forcibly trying to take him away. However, setting aside his resistance, the policemen took him into custody and took him to Kochi. Elamakkara police later confirmed that the filmmaker was arrested but they did not divulge details about the charges slapped against him.

Sanal and Manju had worked together in his last yet-to-be released film Kayattam, which had its premiere at Busan International Film Festival in 2020. Over the last few days, Sanal made serious allegations via social media posts that Manju’s life is in danger.

Earlier this week, he put a post on his Facebook page that read, “Very Serious: Actress’s life is in danger. It has been four days since I posted on social media that the life of famous Malayalam actress Manju Warrier is in danger and she is in the custody of some people with vested interests.”

He also levelled serious allegations against her managers- Bineesh Chandran and Binu Nair. The filmmaker, the other day, also shared on his FB page the copy of a letter which he claimed to have sent to the President of India and the Supreme Court Chief Justice raising concerns on the law and order situation citing various incidents in Kerala from the recent death of a transgender to the Manju Warrier case.

He further added, “When I say this on social media today, many people try to see this very serious issue as a joke. It is frightening that the mainstream media in Kerala is trying to pretend that it has not seen this issue. Since the issue I have raised is about the life and liberty of a nationally acclaimed film actress, I would like the national media to take this issue seriously (sic).”

Neither the actor nor the managers reacted to his Facebook posts in open. Warrier reportedly lodged the police complaint against him on Wednesday. 

(With PTI inputs)