Will this be a starless' Onam?

Your favourite actors won’t be gracing your television sets this Onam. They won’t greet you. You won’t see them sharing fun, laughter and banter with the audience on the other end. If anything, other than Dileep’s arrest in the actress abduction case, can be the talk of the town, it is the alleged TV boycott of movie actors from Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA). Quiz the actors and television channel personalities, many of them simply ask “who said to whom”. This piece of news circulating on social media is rubbished by many.

Ever since the arrival of satellite entertainment channels, special programmes with actors have been a staple fare during festivals like Vishu, Ramzan, Onam and Christmas, seasons when new releases queue up for a rich haul. The controversial piece of news, which hardly attributes anybody as a source, hasn’t lost steam with barely a month to go for Onam. Senior television personality and managing director of Flowers TV R. Sreekandan Nair seems optimistic. “It’s time the shooting of Onam special programmes commenced. Actors invited for our shows haven’t said no to us and are ready to be a part of these. We are about to start the shooting in the coming days. No official communication regarding the ‘boycott’ has been given to us. A move as such is unlikely from their side, considering the association of television with films,” he says.

Reports doing the rounds indicate that the spark came after actors-cum-politicians Mukesh and K.B. Ganesh Kumar lost their cool during an AMMA press conference, held after the police interrogated Dileep. The hype given by news channels on the issue is said to be a contributing factor. Actor/director Kalabhavan Shajohn, an executive member of AMMA, ruled out the possibility of the association taking such an extreme stand. “As far as I know, AMMA has not written to the television channels about such a step. If anything of that sort happened, we are likely to know. A decision as such from the association has not been formally taken. I am also unaware about where the news came from,” he says.

Movies awaiting Onam release include films of Mohanlal, Mammootty and Prithviraj. Rumours are rife that the same programme format will be maintained by replacing film stars with mini-screen actors. Going by the talk among industry insiders, the rumours are ‘part true’. It will not to be a ‘starless’ Onam, but viewers may miss a few familiar faces since a section of film workers have decided to stay away from programmes on television channels. A source from a news-cum-entertainment channel, says, “It is not that all actors are part of this move. Big stars and those whose names were linked to the abuse and arrest issue may back out on all probability. Various sections within the film fraternity are thinking on those lines. The show must go on. Most channels are devising formats to fill the slots with available persons.”

The media is being blamed for all the hue and cry. Remya Nambeeshan, member of AMMA and Women in Cinema Collective, has this to say. “Good that the media did a commendable job in pressuring the authorities to nab the accused. With due respect I’d say, certain names and persons were unnecessarily dragged into it. Just a day ago, another actress was said to be questioned in connection to the issue. An incident like that had not happened at all. It is unfair to present inappropriate facts to stoke human interest. As a member of AMMA, I have not got any intimation not to attend channel programmes during Onam,” she says.