Man from Kozhikode claims director Ranjith sexually abused him in 2012, files complaint

A man from Kozhikode has filed a sexual abuse complaint against director Ranjith Balakrishnan, who recently resigned from his post as chairman of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy for allegedly behaving inappropriately towards an actress.

In his complaint to the state police chief, the man alleges that Ranjith sexually assaulted him in a five-star hotel in Bengaluru in 2012.

The complainant also shared his alleged ordeal with the media. The man claimed that Ranjith saw him during the shooting of 'Bavuttiyude Namathil' starring Mammootty in Kozhikode and gave him his mobile number written on tissue paper.

“I met him in a five-star hotel in Bengaluru. He told me to take off my clothes because he wanted to see how I looked. He said my eyes were beautiful and asked me to do my eyebrows. What he did to me, I cannot say now. I will tell the police,” the complainant told a news channel.

The man said he wanted a film role, but Ranjith had been avoiding him since the alleged crime.

This is the first time a man has brought sexual abuse to court since a wave of Me Too allegations rocked the Malayalam film industry following the release of the Hema Commission report. Ranjith is one of the many leading figures in the Malayalam film industry who have had complaints of misconduct/sexual harassment made against them by their female colleagues.

Bengali actress Sreelekha Mitra had filed a complaint against Ranjith, alleging that he had behaved inappropriately towards her in 2009 under the pretext of a film discussion in Kochi.