Dileep's arrest has sent shockwaves across Mollywood but it would seem that while the police action was unexpected, many of them did not harbour a very good opinion about the star who was hailed as 'Janapriya Nayagan' or people’s hero.
While some of the allegations have come to light because it wasn't possible for people to speak up earlier thanks to Dileep's clout, others sound manufactured and even absurd.
While directors like Vinayan and RS Vimal have spoken out about how Dileep conspired to deliberately place obstacles in their careers, others have made new revelations and allegations.
Rafeeque Seelat, a screenwriter, has hit out at Dileep after his arrest. In a Facebook post, Rafeeque has alleged that Dileep tried to put an end to his career because he'd once caught the upcoming star at the time trying to Watch the lead lady of his film undressing.
He says that one night, Rafeeque saw Dileep hanging upside down from the terrace of a hotel in Ernakulam, with another man holding his legs, in an attempt to see the woman inside the room changing her clothes.
Calling Dileep a ruthless manipulator, Rafeeque alleged that Dileep had never forgiven him for catching him in the act and that his thirst for vengeance had led him to threaten and finish his career.
Even when Dileep was a respected actor in the fraternity, there were rumours about how he'd block the careers of those who fell out of his good books. The survivor in the assault case, too, had spoken about how she was thrown out of films for supporting Dileep's ex wife Manju Warrier in their divorce.
One of these "blocked" actors, reports say, was Kalabhavan Shajon who shot to fame after his performance as a ruthless policeman in Drishyam. However, according to reports, Shajon was supposed to play the villain much earlier in Dileep's Kunjikoonan and had even arrived on the sets, ready to act. But when Dileep heard that he was going to do the role, he supposedly threatened to walk out of the film unless Shajon was replaced.
Shajon, however, has put up a Facebook page denying this story.
Film producer and TV actor Dinesh Panicker is another person who has lashed out against Dileep. Speaking to a TV channel Dinesh Panicker recalled the events in 1999 which landed him in jail.
At the time, Panicker had undertaken to distribute Dileep's film Udhayapuram Sulthan. While Panicker was not among the film's producers, he'd invested 40 lakhs in the project. When the film's producers decided not to go ahead with it, Panicker claims that he spent an additional 22 lakhs to complete the project. He'd given Dileep a cheque for Rs 1.5 lakhs at the time. However, the film bombed and Panicker says that he suffered a 25 lakh loss.
Two years later, Panicker says, Dileep had become a big star and he called him to ask about the cheque. Panicker reportedly told him that his financial situation was still bad and that he had no money to pay him. Nevertheless, Dileep went ahead and deposited the cheque, leading to Panicker's arrest in the cheque bounce case. The issue was later resolved after certain cinema organisations intervened but, Panicker says, Dileep had warned him not to reveal to the media what had actually happened.
Director Thulasidas, too, has come out to speak about the harassment that he has allegedly gone through in Dileep's hands. Stating that ever since the conspiracy theory began doing the rounds in the actor abduction case, it was Dileep's face which had come to his mind, Thulasidas detailed the kind of vendetta that Dileep is capable of.
According to Thulasidas, Dileep had agreed to act in his movie Kuttanadan Express but that after he signed the movie and took the advance, he began making unreasonable demands. The director says that Dileep wanted the heroine to be replaced by Kavya Madhavan and even wanted the camera person and music director to be changed according to his wishes.
When Thulasidas told Dileep that he couldn't speak to him this way, the actor allegedly conspired with the producer and threw the director out of his own film. The film was later remade under another title.
When Thulasidas complained to MACTA (Malayalam Cine Technicians Association), Dileep was on the verge of being banned but the actor managed to orchestrate a MACTA split that ended up isolating Thulasidas and those who supported him, like director Vinayan.
Apart from these accusations of manipulation, late actor Kalabhavan Mani's brother, RLV Ramakrishnan has thrown up a startling allegation that Dileep should be investigated in his brother's mysterious death as they had ‘land dealings’.
However, the allegation itself seems a bit bizarre as it was based on a comment made by director Baiju Kottarakkara on a TV debate. Baiju Kottarakkara had said on a TV channel that a woman actor had told him about certain real estate dealings that Kalabhavan Mani had with Dileep.
“I heard this on a TV channel. We knew about some land deals. The CBI should investigate him,” Ramakrishnan told a TV channel.