Fallen hero

His life has all the ingredients of a blockbuster—an affair with a popular actress at the beginning of the career; back-to-back hit movies and superstardom after a few years of struggle; a business empire that he built from scratch; a bitter divorce after allegations of an affair with another actress; a second marriage. But on July 10, the world that Dileep created around him with ruthless efficiency fell apart.

The Malayalam superstar was arrested by the police for his alleged involvement in the rape of a leading actress. The police said Dileep, 49, had given a contract to a driver, Sunilkumar—also known as Pulsar Suni for his fascination with Bajaj Pulsar bikes—to abduct the actress and take her obscene photos and videos. The motive, said the police, was to sabotage her impending marriage to a Kannada film producer.

The actress was close to Dileep’s first wife, actress Manju Warrier, and she had reportedly encouraged Manju to file the divorce petition. The police said he wanted to take revenge. After a few failed attempts, the actress was abducted on February 17 and sexually assaulted for hours in a moving car. She was dropped off near actor-producer Lal’s house in Kochi.

Things went off the script after this, as the case was immediately reported to the police thanks to the intervention by P.T. Thomas, Congress MLA, and the presence of mind of the actress. The police said the conspirators had not expected this. Pulsar Suni was arrested within a week as he tried to surrender in a court.

The needle of suspicion automatically pointed to Dileep as the actress had earlier complained to the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) that he was ruining her acting career using his influence in the industry. AMMA never moved a finger. Even after the attack, the organisation, of which Dileep was treasurer, maintained a stony silence. It organised a candlelight march only after Manju said she would go on a hunger strike. “AMMA stands for everything that is wrong with the Malayalam film industry,” said actress Sajitha Madathil. “It is patriarchal and anti-woman.”

It is well known that Dileep was in a position to influence AMMA’s decisions. When the organisation was in a severe financial crisis in 2008, he produced the super hit movie Twenty-Twenty to help it. In fact, with stakes in all verticals of cinema—he owns movie halls and a production and distribution company—he could influence the entire industry.

Dileep, whose real name is P. Gopalakrishnan, hails from a middle-class family in Aluva near Kochi. He became a proficient mimicry artist while in college, and entered the film industry as an assistant director. He later started doing small roles. His first major role was in the movie Sallapam (1996) in which Manju was the female lead, and they got married in 1998. Capitalising on his guy-next-door image, he rose to superstardom in a few years. His business interests—restaurants and real estate, besides production, distribution and exhibition of movies—also flourished with his career.

But, along came much criticism. It is said that he ruthlessly sidelined those who came in the way of his plans. Eight years ago, Dileep had a dispute with director Thulasidas, and the Malayalam Cine Technicians Association (MACTA) took a stand against him. In three days Dileep split MACTA and formed a new association. Similarly, he split the Kerala Film Exhibitors’ Federation six months ago.

Dileep had a spat with the attacked actress at a camp organised by AMMA in a hotel in Kochi in 2013. The police said he gave the contract to Pulsar Suni at the same camp, but Suni’s attempts to abduct the actress failed twice—first in Thrissur and later in Goa. He finally got her on the way from Thrissur to Kochi.

Though Dileep declared on many public platforms that he had nothing to do with the attack on the actress, he had always been under the police scanner. The police questioned him for 13 hours earlier this month. He was arrested on July 10, after another round of questioning.

Despite the rumours that had been doing the rounds for months, the industry was shocked when Dileep was arrested. “I have no words. I still don’t want to believe it,” said Lal, who has been close to Dileep. Lal had come under severe criticism from within the industry for helping the actress register a police complaint rather than hushing it up.

“We all are shocked,” said Remya Nambeesan, a member of AMMA’s executive committee and a close friend of the actress. “But we will go to any length to see that she gets justice.” Remya is an active member of Women in Cinema Collective, an organisation formed by the women in the industry after the actress was attacked. It played a crucial role in ensuring that the case remained in the focus.

Scriptwriter Deedi Damodaran said Dileep’s arrest would send a strong signal to the Kerala society. “There have been many molestation cases against big names, but they were never caught. It is for the first time that such a powerful person with powerful connections has been caught,” she said.

With Dileep’s arrest, the Malayalam movie industry is looking at an estimated loss of Rs 100 crore. However, a bigger impact would be on its culture, which has been patriarchal to the core. “We sincerely hope that Dileep’s arrest will purge our film industry of its deep-rooted anti-woman approaches. This should be the first step towards our goal of a gender neutral industry,” said Sajitha Madathil.

It is said that, during interrogation, Dileep spoke of personal enmity as the motive of the crime, but some lawyers say this a deliberate attempt to divert attention from his financial dealings. They say he had had a dispute with the attacked actress over a real estate deal. During the interrogation, Pulsar Suni allegedly said Dileep had offered him Rs 1.5 crore to assault the actress and would benefit by Rs 62 crore from it. The Enforcement Directorate has started investigating Dileep’s real estate deals and other business ventures.

Dileep has been expelled from AMMA and several other organisations such as the Film Employees Federation of Kerala and the Producers’ Association. But many people in the industry believe the rot is a lot bigger than him. “Dileep is not the only culprit, the entire system is,” said national award-winning director Dr Biju. “He is just a byproduct of a system which is inherently anti-woman and anti-dalit.”