Actor Thilakan gets threat call

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Veteran actor Thilakan who has been served a show cause notice by a Malayalam film body asking him to apologise for his outburst against film personalities has filed a police complaint alleging he received a call threatening to kill him for "defaming Mammootty".

The Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) issued Thilakan a notice asking him to apologise in a week's time or face action.

Speaking to IANS, Thilakan said he was at a restaurant in Alappuzha when he got a call from a UAE number.

"Picking up the call I heard a rough voice asking if it is Thilakan, I said 'Yes', and then the person addressed me using bad words and said that since I am defaming Mammootty, in a week's time I will be killed by a person called Thamanam Shaji. I said fine and disconnected the call," said Thilakan.

He said there were other people in the restaurant at the time.

"I went to the Alappuzha South Station and registered a police complaint and demanded that I should get justice," added Thilakan.

On the notice served by AMMA, the actor said he is preparing a reply.

"The letter says that if I don't apologise, I will be ousted from AMMA. This is against the law. The matter has to first go to the disciplinary committee. Anyway, since I have done nothing wrong, the question of apologizing does not arise. All I did was to react when I was prevented from pursuing my profession," said Thilakan.

Thilakan has launched a protest against film organisations for denying him an opportunity to act in the new film "Christian Brothers".

He claimed he has been flooded with calls from people expressing their support.

"I got a call from a person in Kottayam asking me if I am scared about the death threat, I said no. Then he said if a hired killer comes with a knife and stands in front of me, he won't be able to do anything when he thinks of the strong characters I have played. What more applause do I need than statements like these from my well wishers," asked the thespian.