Fans whistled, clapped and rejoiced as Malayalam star Mammooty’s character Zachariah in “Kasaba” grabbed a female IPS officer by the belt and thundered that he would make her miss her menstrual cycle. But Mammooty’s misogynist dialogue in the film hasn’t amused Kerala’s Women’s Commission.   

The Commission has issued notice to the star, the movie’s director Nithin Ranji Panicker and producer Alice George. The Women’s Commission has also sent a letter to the Censor Board of Film Certification asking them to be more cautious while dealing with misogyny in movies.

The Commission says, “The Commission decided to watch the film after it was widely criticized in the media and social media. The decision to send the notice was taken after watching the film.”

The Commission has said that that artistic freedom does not entail the right to demean women and insult womanhood.

A word of caution for Mammootty was also issued by the Women’s Commission. “When an actor like Mammooty who has such a strong fan base and widespread recognition performs such trashy roles, the level of acceptance for such behavior in society will be dangerously high. The Commission believes that actors should have the decency to reject such roles.”

Read our review of Kasaba here.