JOIN USThe jury may still be out on Kochi’s controversial “Kiss of Love” event but on Friday, the fight against moral policing found endorsement from Mohanlal, Kerala’s iconic superstar.
The actor’s latest blog post on his website highlights incongruities in Keralites’ sense of morality. In the post titled “The Moral Question – Freedom, Policing and Discretion”, the actor takes on social hypocrisies and tries to draw a parallel with atrocities by khap panchayats of northern India. “We can understand when such primitive acts happen in less-informed societies. But the perverted manner in which we – who take pride in being literate people – morph into a moral police force is shameful,” says Mohanlal.
He also raises concerns on political parties and spiritual leaders doubling as guardians of morality. “These individuals don’t come out and react when children are sexually abused, people die during black magic rituals or accident victims are left to bleed on roads.”More than 30 participants of Kiss of Love – a protest organised in Kochi against moral policing – were detained ahead of the event on November 2. “I have no right to insist that you should not kiss in my presence. If I don’t approve of it, I’ll have to look away. That’s courtesy, that’s decency,” Mohanlal concluded.