It is ironic that many claim to want justice for sexual harassment victims over the Justice Hema Committee report, and yet they also use the social media campaign to abuse and troll actresses. Since the report came out, a few male celebs in Malayalam cinema have faced multiple counts of sexual discount. One of them is Idavela Babu, the actor who is also the former General Secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA). While Babu has been accused of sexual harassment by a couple of actresses, some social media accounts have been sharing an old video of him and actress Shaalin Zoya. Minu Muneer Accuses Jayasurya of ‘Physical and Verbal Abuse’ in FB Post, Actress Also Levels #MeToo Allegations Against Mukesh, Idavela Babu, Maniyanpilla Raju.

The viral video was a reel where Shaalin Zoya, who had recently acted in the Disney+ Hotstar series Nagendran's Honeymoons, was seen lipsyncing to "Babuvetta" song from Kodathi Sameekshan Balan Pillai. Interestingly, the hero of that movie is Dileep, whose alleged involvement in the 2017 Kerala actress sexual assault case is what prompted the Hema Committee to be established in the first place. Idavela Babu is also seen in the video.

The Viral Video of Shaalin Zoya and Idavela Babu

Ever since this video went viral, Shaalin has been subjected to trolls and abuse on social media. This prompted her to react on social media, calling out the 'nameless bullies' who have been putting her on the receiving end of cyber abuse.

Shaalin Zoya's Instagram Story

In her Instagram story, she wrote, "What should I speak up about? It was a Tik Tok video took years ago in between a movie shoot. And this song was trending that time and clearly thought it will be funny to tag him along since him having the same name. To make it viral in this exact time to slutshame me is another level of cyber abuse. What can i do here? You tell me. If I come with clarification for this again there will be trolling over internet. Cyber world is cruel. The nameless bullies are real villains here. I hate everyone of them." (sic). Hema Committee Report Impact: Siddique, Ranjith, Mukesh, Jayasurya, Baburaj, and More – Malayalam Celebs Named and Accused Under #MeToo of Sexual Misconduct.

Shaalin Zoya's Insta Story on Her Cyber Abuse

Shaalin Zoya IG Story

In the meanwhile, sexual assault cases have been filed against Idavela Babu, who responded by filing police complaints against the actresses who levelled allegations against him, claiming they are false charges.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 30, 2024 07:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).