A Malayalam blockbuster film reignites debate over efficacy of Ayurvedic drugs

The portrayal of a character in the blockbuster Malayalam movie Vaazha 2: Biopic of a Billion Bros has reignited the debate over the purported ill-effects of Ayurvedic medicines.

The character in the movie, played by actor Bijukkuttan, dies of liver cirrhosis after consuming an overdose of ‘arishtam,’ a fermented herbal decoction, for a long period of time. A section of Ayurveda practitioners have said it is part of a “propaganda” against the traditional Indian system of medicine. Though some of the functionaries of the Ayurveda Medical Association of India (AMAI) recently said they would take legal recourse if the “misleading scenes” were not removed, AMAI State president Vishnu Namboothiri said on Monday that an official decision in this regard was yet to be taken.