Mollywood’s love for synthetic drug an open secret

According to the Excise Department, several Malayalam film artists are now under the influence of synthetic drugs.
Image used for representational purpose only
Image used for representational purpose only

KOCHI: About a year ago, scriptwriter Hashir Mohammed of “Neelakasham Pacha Kadal Chuvanna Bhoomi’ fame was arrested for rape attempt, allegedly under the influence of drugs. In another case, a 23-year-old actor who smuggled LSD stamps and Nitravet tablets from Goa for weekend DJ parties in the Technopark area landed in the Excise Department’s net. And just a couple of months ago, Malayalam film and television actor Aswathy Babu was arrested from Thrikkakara for possession and attempting to sell MDMA.  The list of such drug-related cases in the Malayalam film industry is seemingly endless. 

According to the Excise Department, several Malayalam film artists are now under the influence of synthetic drugs. “Yes, it is a known fact,” says Rishi Raj Singh, Excise Commissioner, when asked about the drug usage among film artists.  Synthetic drugs like MDMA, hashish oil and cocaine are the most sought-after drugs by the film industry, reveal officials. “Several film artists are under the influence of synthetic drugs such as MDMA, LSD, brown sugar, heroin and hashish. We think they are using drugs for improving their performance. Last year, we seized 10 kg of hashish oil from a youngster in Thiruvananthapuram and the drug was mainly for supply to a film crew in Kochi.

The major supply of the synthetic drugs are going to them,” said a top official with the Excise Department, on condition of anonymity. According to the official, the artists associated with the reality shows industry are also under the influence of the synthetic drug. “The drug usage in DJ parties has gradually come down to a great extent following the back-to-back raids by the police and the Excise Departments. But now we have seen the usage of synthetic drugs among the artists who are associated with reality shows. Since most of such shows and their rehearsals are not happening with the permission of the police, it is difficult to trace them. We could arrest the carriers who mainly supply them to celebrities but we are yet to get a clue to help us reach up to the celebrities,” said the official. Though ‘Express’ tried to contact the members of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (A.M.M.A), they did not respond.

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