A film's success is not based on reviews and the best bet is to allow the two aspects to exist separately, superstar Mammootty said on Monday, November 20. He was reacting to the present impasse in the film industry over reviewing of Malayalam films.
"A film's success is not based on reviews and the best bet is to allow the reviews and the films to take their own paths," said Mammootty. The superstar was interacting with the media ahead of the release of his upcoming film Kaathal, with Tamil star Jyothika, and the director of the movie Jeo Baby.
"The audience watch a film of their choice and can decide for themselves if they like it or not," he said, adding that a film "review" was different from "roasting".
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His statement comes a few weeks after the Kerala High Court directed the state police chief to have a closer look at suspected vested interests playing truant especially in social media when new films are released. A few weeks after this, the Ernakulam Central Police registered the first case in connection with a “negative” film review last month and charged nine persons.
Those charged include social media giants Facebook, You Tube along with seven individuals representing various online reviews. The police have begun their probe into the matter.
The Ernakulam Central Police registered the First Information Report based on a complaint by film director Ubaini Ebrahim after he found that social media was flooded with negative reviews of his recently released Malayalam film Rahel Makan Kora.
The High Court was acting on a petition filed by Mubeen Rauf, the director of the film Aromalinte Adyathe Pranayam, who claimed that his film had a negative impact due to alleged foul play by vloggers and sought action.
(With inputs from IANS)
Read: The rise of YouTube reviewers is changing the dynamics of film criticism in Kerala