Denying the allegation, Ranjith explained that Srileka Mitra was called for the audition.
Thiruvananthapuram:
Prominent Malayalam filmmaker Ranjith on Sunday stepped down as president of Kerala’s state-run Salachitra Academy following public protests for his resignation after Bengali actress Srilekha Mitra accused him of misbehaving with her.
Ranjith informed Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cherian of his decision and said he did not want to continue in the post in light of the allegations against him.
Mitra told the media that Ranjith misbehaved with her in 2009 when she was called to his residence to discuss a project.
She said she felt uncomfortable after he made „subtle advances” and left Kerala the next day.
Denying the allegation, Ranjith explained that Mitra was invited to audition for 'Baleri Manikyam’ but decided he was not suitable for the role and turned him away.
Kerala opposition party leader V.D. Satheeshan, state BJP president K. Surendran and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president K. Sudhakaran have demanded Ranjith’s resignation from the academy.
The Left Front ally Communist Party of India (CPI) has also demanded Ranjith’s resignation and if Ranjith does not, the CPI and All India Youth Federation (AIIF) have announced that they will hold a rally on Monday in front of the Kerala Salachitra Academy. In his papers.
Malayalam actors Anoop Chandran and Jayan Sertala also demanded Ranjith’s resignation.
Cherian had spoken in support of director Ranjith on Saturday.
Malayalam actor Siddique resigned as general secretary of the Malayalam Film Artists Association (AMA) on Sunday after actress Revathi Sampath raised allegations of sexual harassment.
The actor submitted his resignation letter to the organization’s president and Malayalam superstar Mohanlal via email.
Speaking to IANS, Siddiqui said, „I am resigning in light of the allegations against me.”
The allegations came after the publication of the Justice Hema Committee report which exposed gender abuse and sexual exploitation in the Malayalam film industry.
(Other than the headline, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and was published from a syndicated feed.)