Major relief for Priya Prakash Varrier; Supreme Court quashes FIR lodged against ‘Oru Adaar Love’ actress over wink video song

The FIR was lodged against Priya Prakash Varrier in February in Telangana on a complaint alleging that the wink video song hurt the religious sentiment of a community.

In a major relief for teenage sensation Priya Prakash Varrier, the Supreme Court today quashed an FIR registered in Telangana against the ‘Oru Adaar Love’ actress in connection with her wink video song that went viral on internet and social media platforms like Twitter, Whatsapp, Facebook earlier this year.

The FIR was lodged against the 18-year-old actress in February in Telangana on a complaint alleging that the wink video song hurt the religious sentiment of a community. Earlier this year, an apex court bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud had stayed the FIR.

Besides staying the existing criminal proceedings, the bench also restrained all state governments from registering any further FIRs against the actress and the director with regard to the promotional video. It issued a notice to the Telangana government and others on a petition from Varrier.

The B.Com student from a college in Kerala’s Thrissur district sought protection from an FIR lodged on complaints alleging that the lyrics of the song ‘Manikya Malaraya Poovi’ from the movie was “offensive” and had “violated the religious sentiment of a particular community”.

The song had become a rage and Priya Prakash Varrier’s wink made her an instant sensation and immensely popular among the youth. The video also made her the subject of several memes that splashed the internet.