THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The activists of ‘Kiss of Love’ came with their iconic ‘Kiss Protest’ in the Kairali theatre compound - main venue of the 19th International Film Festival of Kerala - here on Saturday noon, and for the first time they could complete their agitation without any confrontation with the cops or protesters.
Though certain delegates booed at the participants of the ‘Kiss protest’ and there were chances for a ruckus, the timely intervention of the police avoided any untoward incident.
Police personnel were deployed around the theatre compound from the morning as there was prior announcement that ‘Kiss of Love’ will mark its protest at IFFK too. Each and every member of the group were allowed to enter the theatre compound as they were carrying delegate pass.
The protest started by 12.30 pm when the activists numbering around 20, led by noted feminist and academician J Devaika and journalist Shahina K K, gathered in front of the cine-complex.
“The ‘kiss of love’ is against the moral policing and fascist attitude prevailing in the society” J Devika said.
“Those who oppose us have been asking us to shut our mouth and sit in some corner. We are not ‘dead bodies’ to obey that,” said Devika. Following the speech, Shahina, Aswathy Senan and Reena Philp addressed the gathering and shared their views and kissed each other. As the protest progressed, certain delegates started booing at the protesters and shouted offensive comments.
Members in the KOL team booed back at their opponents. This led the police personnel to intervene and they created a buffer between the two groups. It was noticeable that the police did not use force here against the KOL members as happened in Kochi and Kozhikode.
By around 1.05 pm, the protest ended.