In a recent interview, Malayalam director and writer Renji Panicker revealed he regrets every gender or caste insensitive line he has written for films yet. When asked about his film 'The King', where a central character is seen being insensitive towards a woman, Renji said, “I feel I shouldn't have written it. When I wrote it, I never thought of belittling women or even degrading the gender, it was just contextual for the film. Those who clapped for those films have later found it disturbing.”
He added, “If I knew what I was writing based on a situation will have a different interpretation in the future, I wouldn't have written it. Definitely, I regret it.” He also said that it wasn't his objective to make women “uncomfortable” and that due to the closer scrutiny, he is more careful about what he writes now. The honest interview has roped in a lot of praises from all areas, with Rima Kallingal applauding Renji's statement.
In the forefront of patriarchy and sexism in cinema, Rima reacted to the interview saying, “This is the beginning of a new wave. It takes immense courage to unlearn what you have been told all along and to bring about a new perspective. Kudos and cheers to Renji Panicker. And yes, like he said, all art will be scrutinised again and again in history. All art reflects the times we live in. Let's make at that stands the test of time. Let's make art that will be revered by generations to come.”
