National Award-winning Malayalam film director Priyanandan was attacked with cow dung on Friday, allegedly for a commentary on the Sabarimala controversy that he posted on Facebook.
The attackers poured dung mixed with water on the director and then thrashed him, reported Malayala Manorama.
“I have filed a police complaint and will let the law take this forward,” Priyanandan told HuffPost India.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condemned the attack and said such incidents would not be tolerated.
“This unholy act has taken place just because he made his point of view in the social media. Soon after his post came, he was under cyber-attack. This will not be tolerated and appropriate action would be taken,” CM Vijayan said.
Priyanandan told Manorama that the attack took place near his house in Thrissur’s Vallachira.
“It appears that this person was waiting for me. He came after me, hit me, poured cow dung water on me. All this happened around 9 a.m. Generally I take a walk on this particular route everyday around 7 a.m., but today I got delayed. This is not a one-man attack, there are others behind this,” he said.
The director had reportedly written an abusive poem on the Sabarimala row in the state and posted it on his Facebook page. He deleted it after backlash on social media.
Priyanandan said he was threatened by the BJP following his post and alleged that the party’s workers were behind the attack. State BJP spokesperson B Gopalakrishan has denied that the party was involved.
The director, a Left supporter, had in 2006 won the National Award for this film Pulijanmam.
While Sabarimala’s auspicious season, when devotees flock to the temple, ended last week, the aftermath of women of menstrual age entering Sabarimala does not seem to be dying down.
Kanakadurga, one of the two women who were the first to enter the temple after a Supreme Court verdict, was attacked by her family and disowned by them after her return. She, however, has stood her ground.