An actor seen using drugs in a film cannot be booked for substance abuse as it cannot be assumed that he or she had actually used the drugs, the Kerala high court held recently. It such logic were to be adopted, actors in villainous roles would have to be booked for murder, arson or rape, it added.
The ruling was given by Justice V.G. Arun after considering a petition by Nalla Samayam director Omar Abdul Vahab of Thrissur, and the film’s producer, Kalandoor Kunhi Ahamad, of Mangalore. The two were booked by a Kerala excise inspector in 2022 under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act after the film’s trailer showed some characters using drugs and claiming that MDMA gave energy and happiness.