No bonding among Malayalam actors

Veteran Malayalam actor Nedumudi Venu denied the presence of an alleged caucus in the Malayalam film industry at a 'meet the press' program organized by the Ernakulam press club in Kochi on Saturday as part of the ongoing 'Pranamam", a national festival of plays by Kavalam Narayana Panikkar, the doyen of Malayalam theatre.

"To the best of my knowledge there is no caucus," Venu told reporters when asked about the alleged statement by veteran actor Thilakan that there was a caucus led by Nedumudi Venu in the Malayalam film industry, which had resulted in him losing some film roles.

He said Thilakan made the allegations perhaps because he had to remain idle for a few days after a busy schedule. He added that controversies would often help to bring out the truth.

Responding to a question about the changes in the industry, the actor said that when he came to the film industry 30 years ago, there was strong bonding and close relationships between members of the fraternity. Of late, the youngsters have become more materialistic. The changes in life have been reflected in films as well, he said.