Malayalam film director Omar Lulu booked in rape case, Kerala HC grants interim bail

Omar Lulu

The Kerala High Court on Thursday granted interim bail to Malayalam film director Omar Lulu in a rape case against him. The relief was given to the director by Justice A Badharudeen on Lulu's plea seeking anticipatory bail in the case.

The complainant woman, reportedly a young and aspiring actor, had sent the complaint to the Kochi City police commissioner, and after the FIR was registered, the case was transferred to the Nedumbassery police station under the Ernakulam rural police, as the alleged crime was committed under its jurisdiction.

Reportedly, as per the complaint lodged by the actress, Omar Lulu raped her by taking her to different places between January and April. She was promised a chance in one of his films.

Responding to the allegations, Omar Lulu said, as quoted by Manorama Online, "I was friends with this girl who accompanied me on many journeys. I even used to take her to film shoots at her request. However, there was a rift in our friendship in recent times and we have not been in touch for the last 6 months. And now that I am about to begin filming my new film, she has come up with these accusations, She may be having a grudge against me for not casting her in my film or she may want to extort money from me."

Meanwhile, Malayalam filmmaker Omar Lulu shot to fame with his film 'Oru Adaar Love'. Before the release of the film, it garnered a lot of attention when a clip of the movie depicting lead actress Priya Prakash Warrier winking at the camera went viral. Having entered the film industry by directing the movie 'Happy Wedding', Omar's films, particularly 'Chunkzz', have been criticised for their excessive use of profanity and the objectification and sexualisation of women. Omar Lulu's upcoming film starring Dhyan Sreenivasan and Rahman has been recently named Bad Boyz.

Lulu has been charged under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 376 (Punishment for rape).

(with inputs from PTI)