Mohanlal was last seen in Neerali.
Kerala Cultural Minister AK Balan on Wednesday ended all the speculation over superstar Mohanlal being invited as the chief guest at the upcoming Kerala State Film Awards. He told a group of reporters in Thiruvananthapuram that an official invitation to the actor will be sent today. “There is so much discussion even as we are yet to send him (Mohanlal) an invitation,” he said.
The rift in the Malayalam film industry widened after news emerged about Balan’s wish to invite Mohanlal to the prestigious function. Renowned filmmaker Dr Biju was the first one to publicly criticze the move and submitted a petition to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Balan on the same. Claiming to have the support of more than 100 members of the film fraternity, Biju issued a press statement requesting the government to not ‘belittle’ the winners’ achievements by making another actor give them the awards.
While Biju’s statement did not mention any name, it was very clear the mass celebrity petition was a direct result of the news about Mohanlal. On Tuesday, actor Prakash Raj, who topped the list of signatories to the petition, posted a video message on his Twitter page saying he had no qualms about Mohanlal being the chief guest at the function. His statement raised questions over the credibility of the Biju’s petition. The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) and various other film associations in Kerala expressed solidarity with Mohanlal by writing a letter to the Chief Minister condemning the mass petition alleging a conspiracy to personally target Mohanlal.
The confusion and denials forced Briju to issue a rebuttal, where he pointed out the fact that he did not name any person in the petition but he was against the whole idea of having a chief guest at the state awards show.
It is worth noting that award-winning filmmaker and Kerala State Chalachitra Academy chairman Kamal also said that he had no problem with Mohanlal being on stage at the awards function.