Minnal Murali Vandalism Controversy: Kerala Police Arrest Two For Vandalising Tovino Thomas' Film Church Set (Details Inside)

Legal proceedings were initiated against the Antharashtra Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal on Sunday, May 24, 2020 after they were held responsible for vandalising the upcoming Malayalam film Minnal Murali's church set that was erected in Kalady to shoot the film's climax sequence. Right from Tovino Thomas, the film's lead actor to Dulquer Salmaan, Nivin Pauly, Aju Varghese, Anoop Menon to even the Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan had condemned the violent act. The members of multiple right-wing groups destroyed the film's set, said to have cost around Rs 50-lakh, and claimed that the church set hurt their religious sentiments and that the set was in close proximity to the Adi Sankaracharya mutt in Kalady near Ernakulam. Tovino Thomas Starrer’s Minnal Murali Church Set Vandalised in Kalady; Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan Promises To Take Tough Action (Watch Video).

And in what we can call swift action, the Kerala Police arrested two men in connection to the vandalism of the set on Monday, May 25, 2020. As per a report in Indianexpress.com, the accused have been identified as Rashtriya Bajrang Dal Ernakulam district president Ratheesh Malayattoor and one Rahul, have been arrested. Actor Tovino Thomas Slams AHP & Bajrang Dal Members For Vandalising Sets of Church Built For Malayalam Movie Minnal Murali.

A case under various sections of the IPC including, 379 (theft), 454 (trespassing) and 427 (damaging the property) has been lodged by the police against seven members of the Rashtriya Bajrang Dal and many others along with a vehicle that was used during the incident as well, which has been seized.

 

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Minnal Murali’s first schedule at Wayanad had been in progress when the set for the second schedule began construction at Kalady. It was carried out by art director Manu Jagad and team, under special instructions by stunt choreographer Vlad Rimburg. For this, we had the rightful permissions from the concerned authorities.And as we were about to start shooting in this set – which was built on a considerable cost, the whole country went into lockdown, following which our shoot was paused, just like all others’. It is during this prevailing uncertainty that this contractual set was destroyed by a group of racialists yesterday. The reasons they cite for this unceremonious act are not understood to our senses till now. We’ve heard of movie sets being vandalised by religious fanatics in Northern parts of India. Now, it’s happening to us right here. It has caused us a lot of distress, and even more of anxiety. We have decided to go ahead with the legal proceedings. മിന്നൽ മുരളി ആദ്യ ഷെഡ്യൂൾ വയനാട്ടിൽ നടന്നു കൊണ്ടിരുന്നതിനൊപ്പമാണു , രണ്ടാം ഷെഡ്യൂളിലെ ക്ലൈമാക്സ് ഷൂട്ടിനു വേണ്ടി ആക്ഷൻ കോറിയോഗ്രാഫർ വ്ലാഡ് റിംബർഗിന്റെ‌ നിർദ്ദേശപ്രകാരം ആർട്ട് ഡയറക്ടർ മനു ജഗദും ടീമും ഉത്തരവാദിത്തപ്പെട്ടവരുടെ അനുമതിയോടെ സെറ്റ് നിർമ്മാണം ആരംഭിച്ചത്.ലക്ഷക്കണക്കിന് രൂപ മുടക്കി നിർമ്മിച്ച ഈ സെറ്റിൽ ഷൂട്ടിംഗ് ആരംഭിക്കുന്നതിനു തൊട്ട് മുൻപാണു നമ്മുടെ രാജ്യത്ത് ലോക്ക് ഡൗൺ പ്രഖ്യാപിക്കു‌ന്നതും , ഞങ്ങളുടേതുൾപ്പടെ എല്ലാ സിനിമകളുടെയും ഷൂട്ടിംഗ് നിർത്തി വയ്ക്കുന്നതും. വീണ്ടും ഷൂട്ടിംഗ് എന്നു ആരംഭിക്കാൻ കഴിയുമോ അന്ന് ഷൂട്ട് ചെയ്യുന്നതിന് വേണ്ടി നിലനിർത്തിയിരുന്ന സെറ്റാണു ഇന്നലെ യാതൊരു മുന്നറിയിപ്പുമില്ലാതെ ഒരു കൂട്ടം വർഗ്ഗീയവാദികൾ തകർത്തത്.അതിനവർ നിരത്തുന്ന‌ കാരണങ്ങളൊന്നും ഈ നിമിഷം വരെ‌ ഞങ്ങൾക്കാർക്കും മനസ്സിലായിട്ടുമില്ല. വടക്കേ ഇന്ത്യയിലൊക്കെ മതഭ്രാന്തിന്റെ‌ പേരിൽ സിനിമകളും ലൊക്കേഷനുകളുമൊക്കെ ആക്രമിക്കപ്പെടുന്നത് നമുക്ക് ഇതു വരെ കേട്ടു കേൾവി മാത്രമായിരുന്നിടത്താണു ഞങ്ങൾക്കീ അനുഭവമുണ്ടായിരിക്കുന്നത്‌.. ഒരുപാട് വിഷമം ഉണ്ട് അതിലേറെ ആശങ്കയും . അതുകൊണ്ടു തന്നെ നിയമനടപടികളുമായി മുന്നോട്ടു പോവുകയാണ് . #minnalmurali

A post shared by Tovino Thomas (@tovinothomas) on May 24, 2020 at 10:51pm PDT

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, in a press conference on Monday, addressed the incident and had said, "This is clearly aimed at provoking religious sentiments. Kerala is not a land where such communal forces can thrive. The government will take strong action. There is no doubt about it."

The film's lead actor Tovin Thomas also penned a post on how the incident has caused immense grief to himself and the film's entire team and in his post, wrote, "It is during this prevailing uncertainty (lockdown) that this contractual set was destroyed by a group of racialists yesterday. The reasons they cite for this unceremonious act are not understood to our senses till now.

We’ve heard of movie sets being vandalised by religious fanatics in Northern parts of India. Now, it’s happening to us right here. It has caused us a lot of distress, and even more of anxiety." The incident that clearly shook the Malayalam industry, saw fraternity members and actors make their displeasure over the incident very evident.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 26, 2020 06:39 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).