Siddique has been caught in the eye of a storm following renewed allegations of sexual assault and verbal threats against him by a female junior artist. The actress had accused Siddique of misbehaving with her in the past and she brought out these allegations again after the media brought back the focus on #MeToo incidents in the Malayalam Film Industry post the disclosure of the Justice Hema Committee Report. As the fan and media outrage grew stronger, Siddique had to resign from his post as general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA). Siddique Steps Down As AMMA General Secretary Amid Sexual Assault Allegations, Submits Letter to Organisation’s President Mohanlal.

With these incidents unfolding in real life, a courtroom scene from the 2023 film Neru is now going viral. The said sequence, involving a discussion on how a rape survivor should ideally behave, is one of the best moments in the film and features actors Mohanlal, Siddique and Anaswara Rajan. The scene has Mohanlal's character school Siddique's character telling him that times have changed and how today's women are not going to cower in the corner after getting assaulted, they will come forward and face their tormentors and fight for justice.

In what is an ironic case of reel turning out to be real, the same thing happened to Siddique now when his alleged victim has come out and spoken against the actor.

See How Fans are Sharing This Scene From 'Neru' While Reflecting on Real-Life Events

'Had the Same Perpetrator'

'Times Have Changed, Sir'

'What an Irony'

'Another Level'

Watch the Video of the Whole Scene From 'Neru' Here:

The sad part about the whole scene is that while Mohanlal's character fights for sexual assault survivor's justice in the movie, in real life, the superstar - who is also the President of AMMA - has been conspicuously silent on the Hema Committee Report and the #MeToo allegations against some of his colleagues. There are reports that Mohanlal is going to hold a press conference on August 27 to address these issues. If that happens, let's hope that he would tackle these matters in a manner befitting of how fans seem to idolise him.

All You Need to Know About 'Neru' and Where to Watch It Online

Speaking more about Neru, the film is directed by Jeethu Joseph of Memories and Drishyam fame and scripted by Joseph and Santhi Mayadevi. A courtroom drama, Neru follows a legal case involving a blind sculptor, played by Anaswara Rajan, who is raped by a rich brat at her own home. Neru Movie Review: Mohanlal is Back With a Blast in Jeethu Joseph's Overdrawn Courtroom Drama.

Mohanlal plays a lawyer, who is coaxed to come out of self-imposed hiatus, to fight for the blind victim, while Siddique plays a creepy lawyer who defends the accused. Priyamani, Jagadeesh, Sankar Induchoodan, Santhi Mayadevi and KB Ganeshkumar are also part of the cast. Neru is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 26, 2024 11:48 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).