‘Factual inaccuracies’: MT Vasudevan Nair’s daughters demand withdrawal of controversial book

The daughters of legendary Malayalam writer MT Vasudevan Nair have demanded the withdrawal of a recently published book, alleging it contains factual inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims about certain aspects of his life.

On Friday, the book, ‘eMpTy sPaCe – Bashpeekruthayude Aaramviral’, jointly authored by scriptwriter Deedi Damodaran and writer Echmukkutty, came under sharp criticism from Nair’s daughters, Sithara and Aswathy.

In a statement issued on social media, Sithara, tagging Aswathy, said the book was neither endorsed by them nor fact-checked with the family.

“The greater part of the matters in this book, purporting to be about the life of Pramila Nair, do not conform to facts and are blatant untruths,” she said.

Pramila Nair was MT Vasudevan Nair’s first wife and the mother of Sithara. Aswathy is the daughter of Nair’s second wife, Kalamandalam Saraswathy.

Sithara alleged that the publication was part of “a foul attempt to defame and assassinate the character” of her father and their families, create controversy and boost book sales.

“Many discussions in the book, as well as the allegations levelled against MT, are completely baseless. We wish to remind you that the character assassination of a deceased writer and a public figure is not a route to seek fame and financial profit,” she said.

She further said the contents of the book were made up of half-truths and distortions.

“We are firmly convinced that the literary and cultural world will reject this book. We also wish to inform all those involved in this book that it should be withdrawn immediately and that if they do not do so, appropriate measures will be taken," Sithara said.