The Union Minister of State for Tourism, Suresh Gopi, who is also a former actor, said on Tuesday that the report filed by the Hema Committee on the Malayalam film industry would get appropriate handling in the legal system. He attacked the media for alleged "witch-hunting" and trying to bring down an established system.
Gopi was responding to media persons in his constituency in Thrissur, Kerala. He felt that media enquiries should be sought in surroundings relevant to the context. "The court will handle these issues," he said. "Questions relating to such matters are better asked at AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artists) office or my office. Asking me when I am outside those premises is out of place."
He showed dismayed concern as to the focus of the media, even accusing them of their interest in "milking this story for money" at the expense of damaging a well-oiled system. "It is obvious that the media are not the judiciary on these matters," Gopi further said. "The court will handle this, and what you are hearing now are merely allegations.
At one point, Gopi was as angry as his on-screen avatar, the intensity akin to the melodrama enacted by him in movies. His ire rose to a boil when he was asked questions relating to Mukesh, his AMMA colleague and CPI(M) legislator, who has been in the line of fire after a former actress accused the actor of misconduct.
Gopi, the national best actor award winner and an influential figure in Malayalam cinema, had recently won a seat in the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency as a BJP candidate. The response of the state BJP leadership is keenly awaited in the wake of its strident criticism of the Malayalam film industry since the publishing of the Hema report.
Read also | Two Assam BJP Candidates Win Rajya Sabha Seats Unopposed
