Rima Kallingal on Monday clarified a misquoted remark attributed to her about the massive success of the Kalyani Priyadarshan-starrer Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra, after sections of the Malayalam mainstream media circulated a distorted version of her recent Express Dialogues interview with The New Indian Express.
The 22 Female Kottayam actor and Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) member posted the original excerpt from the interview on her social media handle, stating that her words had been taken out of context and mistranslated. The viral reports had quoted her as saying, “The credit goes to the Lokah team, but we are the ones who created the space for it,” a line she never said.
In her actual statement, Rima had explicitly credited the entire team behind Lokah, which was directed by Dominic Arun and produced by Dulquer Salmaan. “The credit goes to the whole Lokah team... Dominic, Nimish, Santhy... and Dulquer for producing it on a big scale. We’ve collectively created a space where such films can exist. The audience here values good cinema, regardless of gender. The real bias lies within the industry—female-led films face smaller budgets, though audiences pay the same. If the craft suffers, it isn’t the viewers’ fault. We need equal financial and distribution support. Cinema itself is powerful... I’m powerful only because of it,” she said.
The controversy arose from a Malayalam translation that inserted a “but” between the sentences and replaced her collective “we” with a possessive “we”, changing the tone and implying self-credit. The misquote quickly spread across social media, prompting criticism against the actor. Rima’s clarification came as the debate intensified online. She did not issue a separate statement but shared the accurate quote to counter the distortion directly.
Meanwhile, actor-producer Vijay Babu made a pointed post on social media, widely seen as a veiled reference to Rima. “Thank god .. no one is taking the space giving credit for movies like Vaishali, Unniyarcha, Kadathanattu Makham, Kalli Chellamma, Avalude Raavukal, Aadaminte Vaariyellu, Neelathamara, Panchagni, Ente Sooryaputhrikku, Aakashadoothu, Independence, Elsamma Enna Aankutty, Nandanam, Chintavishtayaya Shyamala, Achuvinte Amma, Kalimannu, How Old Are You, and 22FK. Malayalam has always given the best woman-centric movies. When times changed and our industry reached greater heights with OTT platforms and newer audiences, we started making content to global standards. Simple and straight, only and full credit to team Wayfarer and Lokah for finding the space and doing it,” he wrote.
Vijay’s post went viral on Monday, further fuelling the controversy. However, many social media users have since pointed out that Rima’s original remarks neither downplayed the Lokah team’s efforts nor claimed credit for its success. Her statement, they noted, was a broader reflection on the systemic bias faced by women-led films in the Malayalam film industry, and a call for equitable financial and distribution support.
Rima will be seen next in Biriyaani filmmaker Sajin Baabu's Theatre: The Myth of Reality, set to hit screens on October 16.
