Jeo Baby, the director of Mammootty starrer Kaathal - The Core, on Wednesday (Dec 6) lashed out at a private Muslim-management run college in Kozhikode over the last minute cancellation of an event which he was invited to inaugurate. Taking to social media platform Instagram to air his "bad experience" and "protest" against the same, Baby said in a video post that not only was his time wasted in travelling to Kozhikode, he was insulted. Kaathal The Core Movie Review: Mammootty's Subtly Superlative Performance in Jeo Baby's Deeply Moving Drama Deserves Highest Acclaim (LatestLY Exclusive).
"I need an explanation for what happened. Additionally, I will be taking legal action in connection with the incident. If I do not protest like this, it would not be right. Moreover, no one else should ever have to suffer such an experience as I did," the filmmaker, whose latest movie Kaathal - The Core is about rights of the LGBTQIA+ community, said. He said that the event - Subtle Politics of Present Day Malayala Cinema - was organised by the college's film club and he was invited to inaugurate it on December 5. Kaathal The Core Trailer: Mammootty and Jyothika Portray a Long-Married Couple's Unspoken Marital Problems in Jeo Baby's Upcoming Film (Watch Video).
Watch Jeo Baby's Video:
"On reaching Kozhikode on December 5 morning, I came to know that the program was cancelled. I was informed about it by a teacher who was part of the event. The teacher was also pained by what happened. However, when I sought an explanation or reason for the cancellation, a clear answer was not forthcoming," he said. As he was not getting any reason for the cancellation, he sent an email to the college principal and also messaged him mobile on December 5 seeking an explanation, he said. "Till date I have not received a response," Baby said.
He said that later he received, as a forwarded message, a letter of the college's student union. Reading out the purported letter's contents on the video, Baby said that the students union stated it would not cooperate with the event as some of his recent statements were against the moral values of the college. "The students union has a problem with my moral values. Why did the college management cancel the event? I want to know that. "What kind of idea is the educational institution and the students union intending to convey through such actions also needs to be found out," the director said, adding that he was making the video as a mark of protest.