Mammootty's 'black-white' comment sparks controversy; netizens call the actor 'racist'

Actor Mammootty recently attended the promotional event for his latest film Christopher. During the event, his 'black-white' comment during a conversation sparked controversy. His co-star Aishwarya Lekshmi also attended the event. 

A video of the same has been doing rounds on the Internet. In the viral video, Aishwarya can be seen describing Mammootty's beauty and calling him 'chakara' (sweet/jaggery). To this, the Madhura Raja star instantly replied that she should have called him 'white' sugar instead of describing him as 'black' jaggery which is made up of 'black' karupatti (palm jaggery). 

See the viral video here:

Update ന്റെ ഇടക്ക് ബഗ്ഗ് കേറുന്നത് എന്തൊരു കഷ്ടം ആണ് 😔 ( ഉടനെ ഒരു മാപ്പ് പറച്ചിൽ കാണും ) #Mammootty #racism pic.twitter.com/K0Nv7OdL3B

— മൊണ്ണാടിയാർ_369 (@Kichu19981)

Netizens react to Mammootty's comment 

As soon as the video went viral, the netizens questioned Mammootty's 'problematic statement'. They also called his statement 'racist'. One user penned, "Colourism in our society is so deep-rooted and normalised. In this clip, #Mammootty can be seen casually cracking such colourist jokes. Most of his supporters may think it’s harmless, but something like this shouldn’t be normal, especially coming from someone like Mammootty."

Another one wrote, "Racism is deeply rooted among the people as well. That’s the reason you rarely find dark-skinned heroes, especially heroines." 

Check out the tweets below: 

Colourism in our society is so deep-rooted and normalised. In this clip, #Mammootty can be seen casually cracking such colourist jokes. Most of his supporters may think it's harmless, but something like this shouldn't be normal, especially coming from someone like Mammootty pic.twitter.com/F0LisQthAW

— Shaji Paapan (@billyoftea)

Racism is deeply rooted among the people as well. That's the reason you rarely find dark-skinned heroes, especially heroines.

— Waheeda💙 (@WaheedaComrade)

Mammootty's recent apology to Jude Anthany Joseph

Some days back, the Telugu superstar Mammootty apologised for his statements about filmmaker Jude Anthany Joseph. At the trailer launch of Joseph's upcoming film, 2018, the actor mocked the filmmaker's baldness. He said, "Jude Anthany is a talented filmmaker with a lot of brain, even though he has no hair on his head.” 

The Parole actor's statement didn't go well with the netizens who brutally trolled him on social media. Soon after the backlash, he issued an apology letter.