Kerala priest leaves church to act as villain

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A Christian priest in Kerala has quit his clerical position apparently facing objections from the Church for acting in a Malayalam film released recently.

Johnson Karoor, 36, who acted in `Nirakkazhcha' (Waves of Colour) directed by debutant Anish, claimed that he quit the priesthood on his own to assert his creative freedom.

"It was my own decision to go out. I have been thinking about it for a long time before taking the decision," Johnson told PTI.

Johnson, who was a priest in Malankara Catholic Church, acted in a villain role in the movie in which an Italian actor Vincenzo Bocciarelli is the hero.

Johnson said he was going to act in more films in future and had already been cast in the next film `Criminal Love' by the same director.

"Another film-maker has also approached me," he said.

Johnson admitted that that he quit the church post as he could not dedicate himself to priesthood. "I am now trying to pursue my education and acting," he said.

Anish said his film had got an Italian distributor who would release the film with sub-titles in 600 theatres in that country.It was shown in the Maratea film festival in Italy last month.