Forty-three days after launching the trailer of Nalla Samayam — which garnered over 2.4 million views on YouTube — Kerala filmmaker Omar Lulu released the controversial film on 30 December on over 400 screens across India. A few hours later, he received an unexpected gift — a notice from the Kozhikode excise department.
The notice mentioned that Lulu and Kalandoor Entertainments — the production company backing the Malayalam film — had been booked in a case under the Abkari Act and Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act for allegedly promoting substance abuse in Nalla Samayam. Three days later, Lulu withdrew the film from the theatres.
“Many political parties and groups are involved. We are getting many complaints from other districts like Calicut and Thrissur. It is not practically possible to fight each one, so the producers decided to halt the movie for now. We will go to the court and abide by their ruling,” Lulu told ThePrint, hoping to release the film on a streaming platform after court order.
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Root of the offence
An ‘Omar fun stoner’, Nalla Samayam — Malayalam for ‘good time’ — was cleared by the censor board with an ‘A’ certification and a directive to mute or change three words, according to Lulu. His fifth directorial project, the movie is a fun, mindless entertainer. At the start of the two-minute-long trailer, a disclaimer tells viewers that “the video may be inappropriate for some users”.
The plot revolves around a group of four girls who, along with two men, consume MDMA, a banned drug in India, at a house party. Running high on drugs, the caper comedy takes a dark turn after one of the characters is shot. From thereon, the story revolves around figuring out what happened that night.
But the Kozhikode excise department wasn’t amused. The complaint — which ThePrint has accessed — accuses the director and producer of heavily promoting the usage of drugs through the trailer.
“The complaint is against the trailer, not the film. It was also shared widely on Facebook and other social media platforms. The statutory disclaimer about consuming alcohol is also missing from the trailer,” says assistant excise commissioner M. Sugunan.
Besides popular actor Irshad Ali, most of the cast comprises new faces such as Neena Madhu, Nora John, Nandana Sahadevan, and Gayathrie Shankar.
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Lulu not new to controversy
This is not the first time that Lulu has been at the centre of a controversy. In 2018, his third film, Oru Adaar Love, featured a song called Manikya Malaraya Poovi whose “derogatory” lyrics allegedly hurt the sentiments of Muslims.
While the controversy died down eventually, the song became a viral hit. With 106 million views to date, actress Priya Prakash Varrier became a ‘national crush’ with her sensational wink in the song.
As Lulu waits for the court to intervene and a subsequent OTT release, he finds solace in the love coming in from fans who have either watched the film or were intrigued by the trailer.
“It is a good entertainer, and there is nothing vulgar. If this film encourages drugs, there are films propagating much worse,” says Sharafu Khan who watched Nalla Samayam before it was pulled out.
Lulu concurs.
“It is a useless case. There are films showcasing smuggling, does that mean people will start doing it? In several mass films, characters take weapons and kill others around. Would that inspire people to do the same? If this is the case, then we cannot make movies,” the Malayali director stresses.
(Edited by Humra Laeeq)