South Indian actress Bhavana Menon, who took a sabbatical from Malayalam films after her alleged sexual assault in a moving vehicle, is all set to make a comeback with a slice-of-life romantic drama after a gap of five years.
Her comeback movie, also starring actor Sharafudeen, is entitled ‘Ntikkakkaakoru premandaarnnu’ and is directed by debutante talent Adhil Asharaf.
Menon was last seen in the Kannada movie ‘Bhajarangi 2’ starring Shivarajkumar.
According to a statement, the filming for this project will begin in May and it’s produced by Renish Abdulkhader. It’s his first film as an independent producer.
Menon had famously distanced herself from Malayalam films after her alleged sexual assault in 2017. Before that, Menon had acted in more than 80 South Indian films — with a majority of them in Malayalam. In a recent interview with Gulf News, Menon had claimed any association with the Malayalam industry triggered terrible memories in her. But she is now learning to conquer that fear and alienation.
“It’s still difficult for me; the thought of meeting anyone from the industry took me back to the memory of my incident. But I’m sure I can’t stay away from my work which means everything to me. I was working in other languages and doing my brand commitments. I said no to so many good Malayalam movies [over] the past years, but now I feel I’m ready to resume my work in Malayalam industry,” said Menon in that interview.
Her decision to re-enter the Malayali film force is a significant development. Soon after the alleged attack, her friends and colleagues like Prithviraj, Baburaj, and directors Shaji Kailas and Jinu Abraham had offered her work and collectively implored her to return to Malayalam films. But it took her more than five years to reach this point where the thought of acting in Malayalam films was palatable. She’s currently based in Bengaluru after marrying her sweetheart and Kannada producer Naveen.
“It’s not been an easy journey. But you learn a lot, experience a lot of emotions. But it is what it is. The fight is more for my rights, my dignity and my mental peace,” said Menon.
