"Every woman who respects herself..." KSRTC passengers refuse to watch a Dileep film on a bus, raise a protest

Dileep actor

On Saturday, December 13, a normal KSRTC bus ride from Thiruvananthapuram to Kerala's northern districts became agitated when some passengers complained about a movie starring actor Dileep. Most of the people who protested were women who stated the movie made them feel bad because the actor was accused of being involved in the sexual assault case of an actress in 2017.

Passengers said that the Malayalam movie Ee Parakkum Thalika was played quite loudly during the trip, which upset some of them. Things got worse when some women urged the conductor to halt the movie, saying they shouldn't have to witness anything that upset them. A Passenger Speaks Out Later, one of the passengers, Lekshmi R Shekhar, told ANI what happened.

A dispute broke out with passengers on a Trivandrum–Thottilpalam KSRTC bus after the onboard entertainment system played a #Dileep movie. The actor was an accused in the #ActressAssaultCase, which led to objections from some passengers. pic.twitter.com/i3sB9wmsM3

— AB George (@AbGeorge_) December 14, 2025

She noted that seeing the movie for about two and a half hours in the current social climate was quite unpleasant. "Being forced to watch and listen to that movie at a loud volume right now was very upsetting for me," she said. Lekshmi said that she asked the conductor to turn off the TV and told him that she would get off at the next stop if the movie kept playing.

As a form of protest, she finally got off the bus at Vattappara. Lekshmi then asked the other people on the bus if they wanted to keep watching the movie. She stated, "Except for two people, all the women clearly said they weren't interested." She also said that several other passengers agreed with her and demanded that the screening be stopped.

The conductor turned off the TV since he or she respected what most people thought. Fighting Words After the screening stopped After the ruling, some male passengers reportedly complained, saying that the actor's legal issue had already been handled. Lekshmi disagreed, saying that the case was still open in higher courts and that only a lower court had made a decision.

"Every woman who respects herself must stand with her until she gets full justice," she stated. She also emphasized that standing with survivors must go beyond symbolic gestures and show up in everyday life. Manju Warrier's Response to the Verdict Actor In a recent Instagram post, Manju Warrier also talked about the verdict in the case of the actress who was attacked.

She argued that justice for the survivor was still not done, even if she respected the courts. She wrote, "The mind that planned and carried out this horrible act is still free, and that is scary." Manju ended her message with a strong statement of support: "With her." "Then, now, and always."