Kerala

John Abraham’s reply on why Kerala has not been Modi-fied, goes viral

Actor John Abraham has been a right-winger’s delight, having done movies like Pokhran, Batla House, Madras Cafe that had a distinct nationalistic flavour. But his response to a question on why his home state of Kerala has not been Modi-fied yet (a reference to why the state has not embraced the BJP yet, it has just one MLA in the 140-member Assembly), may not be much appreciated. Because he subtly labeled the BJP as a party whose template is religious polarisation. John was present at the launch of journalist Murali Menon’s novel `The God who Loved Motorbikes’. 

John was asked at the event why he thought Kerala has not been Modi-fied. “What makes Keralites different from the rest of us?” the lady added. 

“That is the beauty of Kerala, I think. You can see a temple, a mosque and a church within 10 metres of each other, peacefully co-existing without any problem whatsoever. There is absolutely no issue there. With the entire world getting very polarised, Kerala is an example of a place where religions and communities can co-exist so peacefully.”  

But in the same breath, John also pointed to the communist side of Kerala, referring also to his father who made him read a lot of the Red literature. 

“The other extreme, I remember when Fidel Castro passed away, I went to Kerala and that was the only state with his posters and hoardings all over to mourn his death. So Kerala is really communist that way. My father made me read a lot of Marxist material. So there is a communist side in a lot of ‘mallus’ (Malayalis). We all believe in equitable living, equal distribution of wealth and Kerala is a shining example of that,”  said John. 

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