More members of the Malayalam film industry have voiced their support for the student-led protests over the alleged NEET paper leak, with actors Tovino Thomas and Parvathy Thiruvothu condemning the police action against demonstrators during the 'Chalo Sansad' march in New Delhi.
Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, Tovino criticised the handling of what he described as a peaceful protest and questioned the use of force against students. "Right and wrong may be relative, but this is certainly NOT the way to handle a peaceful protest. When the future generation of a nation speaks up, and their voices are met with repressive force, it is the future itself that is being stamped down. It is faith in democracy that is being drained away," the Mayaanadhi actor wrote.
Questioning the police response, Tovino asked, "What did these students do wrong? Did they destroy property? Did they resort to violence? What exactly did they do to deserve this treatment?" Expressing solidarity with the protesters, he added, "The right to dissent is not a threat to democracy; in fact it is one of its foundations." Anticipating criticism over his political views, the actor concluded, "My politics is humanity. My belief is peace. Jai Hind."
Parvathy also continued to post videos highlighting the police action against protesters. In one of her Instagram Stories, the Ullozhukku actor wrote, "What peaceful protest for our rights begets in our India today. We need to take our country back from goons and liars who think this is okay!"
Vismaya Mohanlal, daughter of veteran actor Mohanlal, who is set to make her acting debut with Thudakkam, also shared a post on her Instagram Stories questioning the state's response to the protests.
The post referred to tear gas, lathi charges, injuries to students, road closures, metro station shutdowns and internet suspension, while arguing that citizens need not agree with the protesters' demands to question the use of force. "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," the post read, adding, "Do you genuinely believe this is how a democracy should respond to its own citizens?"
Actors Nimisha Sajayan, Darshana Rajendran and Rajesh Madhavan also shared posts and reels on social media highlighting the police action against protesters.
The latest reactions come a day after actors Shabana Azmi and Prakash Raj joined demonstrators at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi in support of the students. Shabana later revealed that she and lyricist Javed Akhtar had written to the Prime Minister on July 15 seeking dialogue over the issue, but had not received a response beyond an initial acknowledgement.
The protests intensified after educationist and activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been on a 21-day hunger strike demanding accountability over the alleged NEET paper leak, was removed from Jantar Mantar and taken to Safdarjung Hospital. The subsequent police action during the 'Chalo Sansad' march sparked widespread criticism and drew support from several members of the film fraternity, including Sonakshi Sinha, Abhay Deol, Naseeruddin Shah, Imran Khan and Vishal Dadlani.