The Malayalam film Lokah faces backlash for portraying Bengaluru women negatively and linking the city to drugs and crime. Filmmakers have apologized and promised to remove the offending dialogue after social media criticism and activist complaints.
Bengaluru: The newly-released Malayalam film Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra, which had already faced criticism for allegedly promoting ‘anti-Hindu propaganda’, is now at the center of another controversy. Social media users and film personalities in Karnataka have raised concerns over how the film portrays Bengaluru.
According to reports, the movie depicts the city as “a hub of parties and drugs” and has been accused of “demeaning girls of Bengaluru.” The controversy has sparked widespread discussions online, prompting authorities to take note.
Social Media Users Demand Changes
Citing the alleged misrepresentation of Bengaluru, social media users have demanded that certain dialogues and scenes in the film be removed. Activists and film critics have expressed their disappointment, arguing that the portrayal harms the city’s image and misrepresents its culture.
Authorities Step In
On September 2, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh announced that the social media monitoring cell of the CCB (Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems) will look into the matter. He stated that necessary action would be taken if any violation of laws is found in the film.
Filmmakers and Industry Voices Raise Concerns
National Award-winning Kannada director Mansore took to social media to voice his discontent. He noted that in several recent films, including the Kannada film Bheema and Malayalam films Officer on Duty and Avesham, Bengaluru has been repeatedly portrayed as a center for drugs and crime.
“Once upon a time, it was represented in movies as a beautiful town,” he wrote. “It has come to such a state due to uncontrolled migration.”
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Kannada activist Rupesh Rajanna also condemned the film for allegedly demeaning Bengaluru women. He demanded that Raj B. Shetty, the distributor of the movie in Karnataka, remove the offending dialogue and issue an apology to the public.
Production House Responds
In response to the backlash, the production house Wayfarer Films issued an official statement apologizing for the dialogue that hurt the sentiments of Karnataka residents.
The statement read:
“It has come to our attention that a dialogue delivered by one of the characters in our film Lokah: Chapter One has unintentionally hurt the sentiments of people from Karnataka. At Wayfarer Films, we place people above everything else. We deeply regret this oversight and assure you that no offence was intended. The dialogue in question will be removed/edited at the earliest. We sincerely apologise for the hurt caused and humbly request you to accept our apology.”
The production house assured that the dialogue would be edited out in upcoming screenings to prevent further controversy.