Prithviraj, Shaji Kailas apologise for ‘Kaduva’s insensitive dialogue on the differently-abled

By Express News Service

KOCHI: Shaji Kailas and Prithviraj Sukumaran, the director and lead actor of ‘Kaduva’, have tendered their apologies after the Malayalam film released last Friday courted controversy for an inappropriate remark against differently-abled persons and their parents.

“I sincerely apologise for the inappropriate remark against the parents of differently-abled persons. The dialogue was an inadvertent mistake. Do pardon us considering it as a human error,” Kailas said in a Facebook post. “Neither Jinu (Abraham) who wrote the script nor Prithviraj who played the scene, nor I who shot the scene, imagined the possible connotations,” he wrote.

Prithviraj too took to Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms to apologise for the remark. “Sorry. It was a mistake. We acknowledge and accept it,” the actor wrote.

The State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities has issued notices to Kailas and producers Supriya Menon and Listin Stephen seeking an explanation for the dialogue. This is not the first time ‘Kaduva’ is getting embroiled in a controversy.

The Kerala High Court had directed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to consider the objection of a person, who claims the film portrays his life and is made with certain additions defaming him.

The petitioner, Jose Kuruvinakkunnel, had said he is known as ‘Kuruvinakkunnel Kuruvachan’ and the protagonist’s name in the movie was ‘Kaduvakunnel Kuruvachan’. The makers of the film overcame the legal hurdle by changing the name of the character.