Malayalam film Kaduva directed by Shaji Kailas has been receiving flak by cinema goers who have found certain scenes insensitive towards differently-abled children. While reacting to the criticism, actor Prithviraj Sukumaran offered an apology for the ‘mistake’. The scene in question has now been removed.
In the controversial scene, Kaduva, portrayed by Prithviraj, attributes that the differently-abled children are born that way due to the sins accumulated by their parents. The action-drama movie has been co-produced by the actor’s banner ‘Prithviraj Productions’. After the outrage over the dialogue, Prithviraj took to social media to issue an apology.
“Sorry. It was a mistake. We acknowledge and accept it (folded hands-emoji)," Prithviraj wrote on his social media pages. Even the director of Kaduva, Shaji Kailas came forward with a detailed explanation and an unconditional apology for inflicting pain to the parents of children with disabilities.
“I request you to consider it as a mistake on our part and forgive us. The fact is that screenwriter Jinu who wrote the scene, or I who directed the sequence or Prithviraj who acted in the scene did not think about the other aspects of the dialogue when we were shooting it. We were only thinking about conveying the extent of the villain’s cruelty to the audience." He added that they were only reinforcing the age-old saying about karma and next generations suffering the consequences of someone’s actions, and did not realise its implications." the film-maker explained.
He further clarified “We did not intend to say that differently-abled children are suffering for the doings of their parents. I have seen some writings from parents, saying that they were pained by these dialogues in Kaduva. Although my apology might not undo the hurt that was caused, I am still extending an apology."
The apologies were issued in connection to a complaint filed against Kaduva makers with the State Commission for Persons with Disabilities. The complainant being Parivaar, an association of parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Released in theatres worldwide on July 7, Kaduva also features Vivek Oberoi as an antagonist. Samyukhta Menon plays the female lead. The film is set in the 1990s and narrates the story of Kaduva, an influential rubber planter, and his rivalry with Vivek Oberoi’s character Joseph.
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