Malayalam veteran filmmaker Kamal accused of sexual harrasement; director and calls it a ‘baseless allegation’

Malayalam filmmaker Kamal has been accused of sexual harassment by an actor. He has called the allegations baseless, adding that it is all a propaganda against him. Kamal’s recent outing was Manju Warrier’s Aami and he is also the chairman of Kerala State Chalchitra Academy.

As per reports, the young Malayalam actor has claimed that Kamal had sought sexual favors from her in return for the lead role in his next film - Pranaya Meenukalude Kadal. She also added that the incident took place during the shoot of Aami that hit theatres in 2018.

A report in The Times of India quoted Kamal as saying, “This is a baseless allegation. It is true that I had received a legal notice, a year ago. When I contacted my advocate, he said since it was a false allegation, I needed to wait for follow-up action from the other party. That did not happen and so I ignored it.” 

Kamal added that all this is ‘planned propaganda’ against him and told the daily, “I suspect a former employee of Chalachitra Academy is behind bringing this up now. He had quit his position due to some internal conflicts. Only my advocate and the former employee knew about the legal notice that was received a year ago. However, I do not have enough evidence to prove that he is behind it, at the moment.” 

A Pinkvilla report quoted the complainant as saying, “I was also sexually abused on the side-lines of the shoot of the film Aami, directed by him. He took me to a flat and abused me. Kamal has betrayed my trust in him and he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I was also abused at his official residence,” the actor alleged in her complaint. 

As per a Filmibeat report, a legal notice was sent to director Kamal on April 26.