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The Malayalam film industry has been in the news for a long time due to the cases of physical abuse of female artists. Recently, actress Meenu Munir has accused senior Malayalam actor Mukesh of harassing her on the sets of the film and asking for sexual favors to get her to join the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists. Actor Mukesh has now broken his silence on Meenu Munir's allegations. He has hit back at the actress and said that he was being blackmailed for money for a long time.
Senior actor Mukesh has shared a Facebook post and written, the truth must come out, legal action will have to be faced. I welcome the investigation of the allegations being made against me and all those producers. There is a need for a fair and transparent investigation in this matter. Only then will the truth of the allegations being discussed by people come out.
Further, the actor has written, this political drama happened in the year 2018 as well. In the year 2009, Meenu Kurien herself introduced herself to us, calling herself a cinema aspirant. She met me with a photo album. Whenever someone comes with a desire to work in films, he comes with photos. I told her that I will try my best to get her work. She even thanked me later, praising my good behavior. At that time, she did not complain about any kind of bad behavior on my part in the meeting.
Further, the actor has told that after this meeting, Meenu contacted him again in the year 2022. Then she was using her name Meenu Munir. On this, Mukesh has said, she had then asked me for financial help. She had sent me a WhatsApp message, in which she had asked for 1 lakh rupees. I also got another message that if I do not give her money, then people from other communities will also interfere in this.
The actor has told that when he did not give the money, Meenu's husband messaged him and demanded a huge amount. The actor said, this gang was blackmailing me for money for a long time and now as soon as they got the chance, they have used it against me. I am telling all this with proof. I have the messages that they have sent me. I am not someone who can ever hurt anyone's personality or dignity. But I am not going to bow down to this conspiracy of blackmailing.
Meenu Munir's allegation – misbehaved with on the film set
Yesterday, actress Meenu Munir shared a Facebook post in which she shared pictures of 5 people including senior actor Mukesh and accused them of verbal and physical harassment. The actress said that she was harassed during the shooting of a film in 2013. The actress also said that she was pressured to leave the film industry.
Many actresses made serious allegations against senior actors
Recently, Malayalam actress Sonia Malhar revealed that an actor tried to force himself on her during a film shoot in 2013. Actresses Geetha Vijayan and Sridevika have also accused director Tulsidas of sexual harassment during film shoots. At the same time, a junior artist has also accused senior Baburaj that in 2019, Baburaj called her home and tried to force himself on her. Veteran Malayalam actor Siddiqui has also been accused of rape by an actress, after which he has resigned from the post of General Secretary of AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artists). Actor Baburaj is also the joint secretary of this association.
Why is Malayalam film industry in controversy?
Let us tell you that for the past several years, many such incidents related to regional cinema have been coming to the fore, in which female artists have revealed that many big filmmakers have made objectionable demands from them in exchange for giving work in films. At the same time, some female artists have told that they have been sexually exploited during the shooting. In view of the increasing cases, a 3-member committee was formed in 2019 under the chairmanship of retired Justice Hema, which was closely monitoring such cases. On August 19, about 4 years after the formation of the committee, the Hema Committee has submitted a 233-page report to the Kerala government, in which exploitation by many big artists has come to the fore. As soon as the report came, many actresses are revealing the exploitation that happened to them.