Recently, we reported about Mohanlal's daughter, Vismaya, and Tovino Thomas facing backlash for their social media activity supporting student protests over NEET paper leaks. Vismaya Mohanlal shared a post on her Instagram Stories that criticised the force used against the protesters. An excerpt from the post reads, "You don't have to agree with the protesters. You don't have to support their demands... But if the response to citizens raising their voices is overwhelming force instead of dialogue, every one of us should stop and ask what kind of democracy we are becoming."
It also rhetorically suggested that law enforcement action on the protesters signifies a response that does suit an ideal democracy.
Vismaya Mohanlal faced abusive comments from several netizens for her endorsement of the student protests. Some of them even described the actor as being 'anti-national' and demanded a boycott of her upcoming film, Thudakkam.
Meanwhile, director Major Ravi downplayed Vismaya's stance on the protests. Ravi said that he has known her since childhood and that she does not have enough political awareness to share a nuanced opinion on the issue. According to the filmmaker, it was the angle of human suffering that moved Vismaya. He also asked people not to interpret what she shared as a political stance.
Vismaya Mohanlal has now given a response on the backlash to her stance. In an interview with FTQ with Rekha Menon, she said, "I stand by what I said. I believe that we are a democracy, and we should always be allowed to question and be heard. We should always have dialogue instead of force, and I don't think your politics should ever supersede your humanity. Regardless of which party is in power, if tomorrow the same was to happen, I would still feel the same way."
