In Keralam's politics and cinema, few figures have maintained as towering and consistent a presence as Mammootty. For decades, the actor has been regarded not merely as a cultural icon but also as a fellow traveller of the Left, with his ideological leanings rarely a secret.

However, the 75-year-old legend has now found himself at the receiving end of vicious cyberattacks, primarily from Left-leaning social media handles.Ironic, you might think? There's a trigger.From an interaction with a CPI(M) leader in Wayanad that did not go down particularly well to a recent courtesy visit to a BJP leader's home, the Left's online vanguard has turned fiercely against a man it once staunchly defended.

To understand why a cherished cultural ally has suddenly become a target of criticism from the Left's online foot soldiers, it is necessary to examine the trajectory of these attacks.The latest flashpoint was Mammootty's visit to the home of BJP state vice-president B Gopalakrishnan following his daughter's wedding. The visit triggered a wave of online hostility.

Mammootty had initially promised to attend the wedding, held at Guruvayur on November 1, but was forced to cancel his plans. The actor later made good on his promise, visiting the BJP leader's home on the night of November 7 to meet the newlyweds and their family.

When Gopalakrishnan shared photos and videos of the warm, personal interaction on social media, Left cyber handles immediately launched a scathing attack on Mammootty. Social media accounts labelled the visit as a political betrayal, criticising the megastar for posing with a prominent BJP leader and accusing him of compromising his secular and Left-leaning credentials.

Some even called him a hypocrite.The backlash was intense enough for Gopalakrishnan himself to intervene. He appealed to people not to politicise his daughter's wedding and personal ties.

Many, including Left-leaning observers, argue that Mammootty's visit could help "communal and fringe leaders" gain wider social acceptance, and that argument has resonated with many online. They cite Gopalakrishnan's hate posts in the past as part of their apprehensions.The BJP leader has repeatedly made anti-Muslim remarks in the past.

During the Assembly election campaign, he questioned why the temple town Guruvayur, from where he contested, had no Hindu MLA. Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, he claimed that Vavar Swamy, the Muslim saint associated with Sabarimala, could eventually claim temple land as Waqf property.

Last year, following the announcement of the State Film Awards, he also posted a list selectively naming Muslim winners, including Mammootty, calling it a "massive wonder" during the poll season. He has deleted this post now after Mammootty visited his home.However, the outrage against Mammootty appears to have been selective.

The wedding was also attended by CPI(M) leader and Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan and Chief Minister VD Satheesan among others.So, why then was Mammootty singled out?The origin of the online hostility towards the veteran actor, however, predates his visit to the BJP leader's home. The unconditional adoration that Left cyber handles had for the actor began to fracture in March 2026, when Mammootty made a private visit to the Elstone Estate in Wayanad to meet survivors of a landslide.During the visit, CPI(M) Wayanad district secretary K Rafeeq accompanied the actor throughout, at times taking it upon himself to ask the crowd to make way.

Conscious of the optics and keen to ensure that the focus remained firmly on the victims, Mammootty expressed his discomfort. In a brief conversation captured on video, the actor told the politician, "Why are you always standing next to me?

People will think I came here for you. Please move aside".For the hyper-reactive Left cyber brigade, the 10-second clip was an unforgivable slight against its local leadership.

A torrent of criticism followed, with trolls branding Mammootty "arrogant" and demanding that he show deference to the party apparatus. The online cadre appeared to ignore Mammootty's seeming intention to keep a tragedy free from political colour, focusing instead on what they perceived as disrespect towards a CPI(M) representative.The resentment from Wayanad lingered.

In October, when Mammootty hosted a group of Left youth and student leaders belonging to the Students' Federation of India (SFI) and the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the CPI(M)'s youth wing, at his home, the gesture surprisingly triggered fresh anger among Left-wing supporters online. Some dragged up the earlier "insult" to Rafeeq to justify their attacks on the actor.This time, critics pointed to what they described as an apparent contradiction.

If Mammootty did not want his association with the Left to be interpreted politically, why should his association with a BJP leader be treated as merely personal, thry argued.Mammootty had also faced sporadic cyberattacks from Left sympathisers earlier in the year after visiting the Statue of Unity in Gujarat and sharing photographs from the site. He had travelled to the state to receive his fourth National Film Award for Best Actor.DECONSTRUCTING MAMMOOTTY'S LEFT AFFILIATIONMammootty is not a politician.

He is, first and foremost, an artist. However, his ideological leanings have been evident for decades.

He has historically shared a warm camaraderie with CPI(M) stalwarts such as Pinarayi Vijayan and has lent considerable cultural legitimacy to the party through his association with Kairali TV, the television network promoted by the CPI(M).His support has often gone well beyond passive sympathy. A few years ago, while speaking at a conference organised by the DYFI, Mammootty made a pointed political statement about the 2002 Gujarat riots.

He said that if organisations such as the DYFI had been present and active in Gujarat, the communal riots and atrocities committed in the name of religion would not have happened.The remark triggered a massive controversy at the time. The backlash was so severe that protests erupted, film sets were disrupted, and the state had to provide Mammootty with special police protection at his home.

The actor endured intense hostility from the right wing as he stood by his remarks.For years, the Left ecosystem remembered this loyalty and defended him against right-wing trolls. That relationship, however, appears to have changed.

Ironically, BJP leader B Gopalakrishnan himself had allegedly made hateful remarks against the actor in now-deleted social media posts. Back then, it was Left-leaning handles that had countered those remarks.In an earlier media interview, the actor was described as someone who considered himself a "liberal Leftist".One of the most visible manifestations of Mammootty's association with the Left has been his connection with Malayalam Communications Limited, which operates Kairali TV.

Mammootty has served as its chairman since its inception in the mid-1990s.Mammootty has managed to navigate Keralam's intensely politicised society while maintaining a dignified boundary between his personal beliefs and political affiliations. He has identified with the Left's core ideologies but has resisted becoming its mouthpiece.THE LEFT LEADERSHIP'S DAMAGE CONTROLRecognising the considerable damage caused by their own cyber cadres attacking one of Keralam's most beloved figures, senior CPI(M) leaders have repeatedly stepped in to douse the flames.Senior CPI(M) leader and former Finance Minister Thomas Isaac mounted a strong defence of the actor.

He categorically stated that attending weddings transcends political and ideological differences and that there was no point in criticising people for fulfilling social obligations.Isaac explicitly distanced the party leadership from the trolls, saying,"The cyber followers are the main players behind this. They are not the CPI(M).

The CPI(M) wants to maintain such a relationship with him. Those associated with the party, whether on social media or otherwise, should act keeping this perspective in mind.

Those who do not follow this approach do not represent the CPI(M)."This followed a similar pattern earlier in the year. After the Wayanad incident, Rafeeq himself clarified that Mammootty had not intended to insult him.

Following the October visit by student leaders, CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan also had to publicly reject the online bullying.Pinarayi Vijayan, the state's most powerful Left leader, publicly apologised to Mammootty for any mental distress caused by the social media campaign, particularly if people associated with the CPI(M) were involved.Vijayan questioned why people claiming to represent the party's social media ecosystem were targeting someone like Mammootty. "Could they not recognise Mammootty? Do they not know who Mammootty is?" the former Chief Minister asked.For Mammootty, the challenge is to continue being the independent cultural personality he has always been, without having every personal interaction interpreted as a political statement.- Ends