Lal Jose on #MeToo: I think twice before hiring women now

Lal Jose feels it was unnecessary to speak about an incident that happened about 20 years ago. (Photo: Lal Jose/Instagram)

Renowned Malayalam filmmaker Lal Jose said that the #MeToo campaign has created an atmosphere of fear in the industry making him wary of hiring women in his team. While promoting his new film Thattumpurath Achuthan recently, the director opined in an interview that he feels it was unnecessary to speak about an incident that happened about 20 years ago.

He claimed that a popular photographer was accused of sexual misconduct by his former colleague but later it turned out to be false. “When I am on sets, sometimes I am angry and sometimes friendly. I talk to men and women in the same way. But not necessarily everyone will take my behavior in a good sense. This movement has created fear but the concern here is if the fear is for good or for bad,” Lal Jose said on YouTube talk show, James Show.

He added that now he thinks twice before hiring aspiring women filmmakers in his team as he is afraid of getting in some kind of trouble.

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Before Lal Jose, some other big names from Malayalam film industry had also expressed their displeasure about the #MeToo movement. It’s worth noting that Malayalam superstar Mohanlal had termed the movement as a mere “fad” with a “short lifespan.” The actor received a lot of flak for his comments.

On the career front, Lal Jose’s Thattumpurath Achuthan, which released in cinemas about two weeks ago, is doing well at the Kerala box office. The director’s previous film Velipadinte Pusthakam (2017) was his maiden collaboration with Mohanlal. It, however, could now live up to the expectations. He will be directing Biju Menon in his next.