After expressing support for the Delhi student protests, actor Mohanlal’s daughter Vismaya Mohanlal has been subjected to a wave of cyber abuse on social media, especially on Facebook. The backlash began soon after she posted an Instagram story condemning police action against protesting students and questioning whether a democracy should respond to citizens with repression instead of dialogue.
In her post, Vismaya wrote that if a democratic country answers citizens’ voices with “overwhelming force” instead of dialogue, people must ask what kind of democracy it is becoming.
Following her remarks, abusive and hateful comments began appearing on Mohanlal’s Facebook page and under several posts, with some users targeting both Vismaya and the actor personally. The reaction on Instagram, however, appears to have been comparatively milder.
“Comments like, ‘If you ask your father what happened to Prithviraj, he’ll tell you — sudden civic consciousness!’, ‘Did someone advise you that just a few reactions are enough to bring crowds to the film?’, ‘Happy that those who stayed silent when innocent people were killed in Pahalgam after being asked their religion have now found their voice’, and ‘You have ruined Lalettan’s name; now my family and I will not go to the theatre either’ are among the remarks being posted.
Several other film personalities who supported the student protest have also faced similar online backlash. Actors Tovino Thomas, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Rima Kallingal and Prachi Tehlan, along with filmmaker Aashiq Abu, have all spoken in support of the students and received threats of boycotts and personal abuse online.
The protest, organised as the “Chalo Sansad” march by the Cockroach Janata Party on July 20, turned violent in central Delhi after police blocked the march with barricades and used tear gas and lathicharge to disperse protesters. The clash triggered outrage after videos emerged showing injured students and heavy police force.