Ace Malayalam director Ranjith Balakrishnan booked for sexually assaulting man at Bengaluru hotel

Renowned Malayalam filmmaker Ranjith Balakrishnan has been booked by the Bengaluru police for allegedly sexually assaulting a 31-year-old man at a five-star hotel.

According to the FIR, the incident took place in December 2012. He had first met the director while visiting Kozhikode to meet actor Mammootty during the shoot of ‘Bavuttiyude Namathil’, a drama thriller film written and produced by Balakrishnan.

The complainant alleged that during the meeting, Balakrishnan reportedly managed to get his phone number and invited him to a five-star hotel near Kempegowda International Airport, where he allegedly offered him alcohol and sexually assaulted him.

“The complaint was initially filed at a police station in Kerala but the case was transferred to Bengaluru because the alleged incident of sexual assault occurred at a five-star hotel here,” news agency PTI quoted Bengaluru police as saying.

"The incident allegedly took place in 2012, but the complainant came out now in the wake of a series of sexual harassment allegations by many artists in the Malayalam film industry, which he claimed gave him the courage to register his complaint," the official added.