Kochi: After renowned director Khalid Rahman was arrested by the excise department for possessing hybrid cannabis, his brother and cinematographer Jimshi Khalid has come out in strong support of him.

Jimshi shared a picture of the two on Instagram, captioning it, “Thank u for ur fuel in the fire, now it’s gonna burn like never before!” The post quickly gained attention, sparking a wave of support and criticism from within the film industry and beyond.

A number of prominent figures from the Malayalam film industry voiced their support for Jimshi’s post. Actors Naslen, Lukman Avaran, Sreenath Bhasi, actress Anagha Ravi, and singer Dabzee all commented on the picture, showing solidarity with Jimshi. However, the post also garnered backlash.

One user under Naslen's comment, which included a love emoji, wrote, “Let the entire country's children continue to support him and normalise cannabis.” Other critical comments included, "Are these freedom fighters?" and "It’s like receiving an award." In response to the support and controversy, actor Sreenath Bhasi humorously added, "Add my picture too" in the comments. Bhasi and Shine Tom Chacko were also grilled earlier in another drug case.

In the wake of the criticism, Jimshi Khalid later turned off the comment section on his post.

The controversy began after directors Khalid Rahman and Ashraf Hamza, along with cinematographer Sameer Thahir, were arrested by the excise department for using hybrid cannabis at Thahir’s flat in Kochi. The excise officers seized 1.5 grams of hybrid cannabis from the group during the raid. Rahman, Hamza, and Thahir were later granted bail after being held at the police station.

Khalid Rahman’s last film, Alappuzha Gymkhana, which starred Naslen, was well-received. The cinematography for this film was done by his brother, Jimshi Khalid.