When Christo Tomy’s Ullozhukku (2024) was released, it drew wide praise for its layered female portrayals — brought to life with quiet precision by Urvashi and Parvathy Thiruvothu. Yet amid the acclaim, murmurs began to surface about one casting choice: Alencier Lopez, who played Parvathy’s father in the film.

For those unaware, Alencier was previously accused during the MeToo movement. Therefore, Parvathy, who is an outspoken member of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) and one of the most consistent voices demanding safer, more equitable spaces in Malayalam cinema, collaborating with him did not go unnoticed.

In an interview with The New Indian Express, the actor clarified her position: “I can separate art and the artist... If I were the producer, I wouldn’t be casting them. But as an actor, as a fellow employee, I can’t dictate to my employer whom they can or can’t cast.”

Two things stand out here. First, debutant Christo Tomy has always maintained that he pursued both Parvathy and Urvashi for years and that Ullozhukku could not have been made without them. Second, Alencier’s role could easily have been filled by someone else — a Kottayam Ramesh or Manoj KU, for instance — and still been extremely convincing. Which makes Parvathy’s claim of “inability to dictate” a complicated one. When an actor with her stature and credibility speaks, discomfort doesn’t go unheard.

Recently, a similar accusation was levelled at Rima Kallingal for collaborating with yet another MeToo-accused filmmaker, Sajin Babu, for Theatre. Rima, who has consistently aligned herself with the WCC’s call for accountability and safer workspaces, defended her choice (in the New Indian Express) by saying that she “really needed work.” She admitted this was a “selfish decision,” but added that since Sajin had accepted his mistake, she decided to go ahead with the film.

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© Mathrubhumi English