Producer Listin Stephen sparked a controversy by accusing a major star from the Malayalam film industry of committing a grave mistake. It was during the launch event of Dileep's upcoming film Prince And Family on Friday that Listin levelled the accusations. Without naming the actor, he said, "I've been in the Malayalam film industry for around 15 years and worked on quite a few films. A prominent actor has now ignited the sparks of a major controversy by committing a grave mistake, which should have been avoided. He must be listening to this, so I'm reminding him not to continue with it. If he repeats, it will lead to bigger repercussions."
Listin's remarks without naming the person have resulted in widespread speculations on social media about who he was referring to. Producer Sandra Thomas came out strongly against Listin for his veiled remarks, which cast doubts on all the actors. She added that the remarks were inappropriate of an office bearer in the Kerala Film Producers Association (KFPA) and urged the association to revoke Listin's primary membership immediately.
It is widely speculated on social media that Listin's comments were directed at actor Nivin Pauly for abandoning the shoot of their ongoing film Baby Girl and joining the shoot of Akhil Sathyan's film. The actor is yet to respond to the allegations.