Complaint against song featuring Priya Varrier

A group of Muslim youths from Hyderabad have filed a complaint against a song in Malayalam actor Priya Varrier's upcoming movie, which has gone viral on the internet.

The youths say the song - 'Manikyala malaraya poovi' - from the movie 'Oru Adaar Love' mention's the name of Prophet Muhammad's wife, Khadijah Bibi.  

This they say has hurt the sentiments of the Muslim community.

The youths demanded a ban on the song. The police, who had no clue about the content or its meaning, have not registered an FIR but assured the young men that they would examine the song.

Falaknuma police inspector P Yadagiri said that the Central Crime Station will be investigating the complaint as it involves coordination with the Kerala Police.

While the police feel
that the youths' motive may be to gain publicity, the complainants say that the lyrics are nothing but "blasphemy".

The main complainant, Mohammed Abdul Muqeeth Khan, told reporters, "I am a B Tech student and I am not interested in organising rallies. I went through the lyrics. The song names our Prophet's wife, Khadijah Bibi. I have decided to protest."

Khan, however, said, "I would have liked it if the name of the Prophet's wife was not there."

Filmmaker Omar Lulu on Wednesday told DH he is trying to gather information about the complaint.

The song, penned by P M A Jabbar about 40 years ago, is a popular track in the Malabar region of Kerala.

But the audience the updated version gained in just five days seems to have exposed it to some criticism.

"We didn't create the song...this is a hugely popular song and it has been around for so many years. It's unfortunate that these views are coming up now," said Lulu.

The filmmaker said he was receiving immense support from across Kerala and was preparing for a June release.

Priya's wink and smile in the song has already got the video more than 16 million views on YouTube.

Also, Priya now has three million followers on Instagram.