The Cantonment police in Thiruvananthapuram registered the case based on a complaint filed by noted Mohiniyattam dancer RLV Ramakrishnan.
Published Mar 31, 2024 | 10:18 AM ⚊ Updated Mar 31, 2024 | 10:40 AM
Kalamandalam Sathyabhama.
Kerala Police on Saturday, 30 March, registered a case against noted Mohiniyattam dancer Kalamandalam Sathyabhama over her controversial remarks allegedly against a fellow artiste.
The Cantonment police in Thiruvananthapuram registered the case based on a complaint filed by noted Mohiniyattam dancer RLV Ramakrishnan.
As a video clip of Sathyabhama’s remarks made during an interview with a YouTube channel went viral on social media and was aired on news channels last week, Ramakrishnan had alleged that her comments were directed at him and threatened to initiate legal action against her.
The video and her subsequent statements defending what she had said were severely criticised by many on social media, cutting across political lines.
“We have received the complaint here today and a case was registered against Sathyabhama under various sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,” a police officer told PTI.
Further proceedings in the case would be decided later, he added.
In the purported interview, Sathyabhama had said, “The person who performs Mohiniyattam should be ‘Mohini’ (enchanting). He has the colour of a crow. This art form requires a stance that keeps the legs wide apart. There is nothing more repulsive than a man who performs with his legs wide apart in this manner.”
“In my opinion, men should perform Mohiniyattam only if they are that good-looking…But his looks are unbearable,” she added.
Sathyabhama, however, had not specified whom she was referring to.
Kerala Ministers Saji Cheriyan, R Bindu, and Veena George, Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan, and BJP state chief K Surendran, among others, had condemned her remarks.
The Kerala Kalamandalam, a premier public institution that preserves the state’s artistic heritage, had also condemned Sathyabhama’s remarks, and opened up its doors to students of all genders, besides inviting Ramakrishnan for a Mohiniyattam recital.
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