A special court in Thiruvananthapuram has granted bail to Mohiniyattam dancer Sathyabhama in a caste abuse case on strict conditions.
Sathyabhama appeared before the Special Court for SC/ST PoA Cases in Nedumangad on June 10, after the Kerala High Court denied her anticipatory bail plea.
The court granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and ordered her to appear before the investigating officer whenever necessary and not to influence the witnesses.
It also warned her not to commit the offence again while on bail.
Accusations
Sathyabhama is accused of making racist remarks about a fellow artist during an alleged interview with a YouTube channel.
The high court dismissed her bail application and directed her to appear before the special court in Thiruvananthapuram.
She was arrested after noted Mohiniyattam dancer RLV Ramakrishnan filed a complaint alleging that her racist remarks during a purported interview with a YouTube channel were directed at him.
Outrage in Society
As her comments sparked outrage in Kerala society, Sathyabhama denied Ramakrishnan’s accusations, claiming she did not name anyone specifically in the interview.
During the interview, Sathyabhama stated: “The person who performs Mohiniyattam should be’mohini’ (enchanting).” “He has the color of a crow. This is an art form that necessitates a stance with the legs wide apart. Nothing is more repulsive than a man performing with his legs this far apart.
“In my opinion, men should only perform Mohiniyattam if they are physically attractive… But his looks are unbearable,” the 66-year-old dancer said during the interview, which was aired on news channels.
She also declared that he was unsuitable for the dance form Mohiniyattam.
Sathyabhama, however, did not specify to whom she was referring.
Many social media users, regardless of political affiliation, harshly criticized the video after it went viral.
In a Facebook post, Ramakrishnan, the brother of late film actor Kalabhavan Mani, claimed that Sathyabhama was continuing her racist abuse against him by claiming that he was unqualified to teach Mohiniyattam.
Ramakrishnan graduated from the prestigious RLV College in Tripunithura and holds a first-class MA Mohiniyattam degree from MG University. He is also a top MPhil student and holds a PhD from Kalamandalam.
