K'wood sets up defences for harassed women

In an industry first, Kollywood is to offer women protection in the matter of sexual harassment at the workplace. The Nadigar Sangam is committed to appointing a 3-member committee comprising only women to handle any complaint of sexual harassment in the industry.

The Telugu film chamber has created special mail ids for #MeToo complaints namely  complaints@telugufilmchamber.in and complaints@apfilmchmaber.com asking those who were sexually harassed to speak up and post it on the said IDs and also stated that anonymous complaints will also be heard.

On the Nadigar Sangam initiative, Vishal said, “I am always against sexual harassment of women and children. It’s time women in our industry speak up. I totally respect Chinmayi and Tanushree Dutta and others. Women should inform us as soon as such incidents happen — like how Amala Paul informed us when she faced a similar situation in Malaysia during a dance rehearsal. Karthi and I took immediate action and helped her. Nadigar Sangam is not a police station to complain after any crime has taken place. The TFPC is forming a 3-woman committee where the sexual harassment cases will be addressed and safety for women ensured. As a producer also, my company VFF and I believe in assuring women the utmost respect and safety. If anyone has been victimised, neither VFF nor I will stand for it.”

Contrast that with the way some others have responded to accusations and the issues facing men and women are getting more complex.  Days after many women, including Chinmayi, accused Vairamuthu of sexual harassment, the ace lyricist released a short video taking his own sweet time saying ‘allegations levelled against me are totally false, motivated. And let the court say if am ‘Nallavaraa or kettavara.’ He borrowed a famous line from Nayagan  dialogue to make his point.

While Bollywood biggies like Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn came out in open and supported the #MeToo movement, there was stoic silence from the Tamil film industry save for Kamal Haasan, the actor-turned-politician, who stated his support for the #MeToo movement but with a few riders that it should not blow up into a vendetta machine.

Aamir Khan stepped down as the producer of Mogul, a biopic on late Gulshan Kumar due to allegations of sexual misconduct against the director of the film, Subhash Kapoor.

The 2.O star Akshay Kumar said he had asked that the shoot for Housefull 4 be cancelled after #MeToo allegations emerged against its director Sajid Khan, who declared he was taking “moral responsibility” to step down. The actor also asserted that he would not work with any proven offenders.

Ajay Devgn also came out in support of #MeToo movement and that he will not stand for misconduct and he will take action against anyone who’s accused of such behaviour within his production house.

 The state BJP president Tamilisai Soundararajan remarked, “Vairamuthu’s delayed tweet only increases the suspicion on him.” Earlier, Tamilisai had recalled Vairamuthu’s comments belittling saint Andal and said, “Andal has torn the mask of Vairamuthu and exposed him appearing in the form of another woman (Chinmayi)”.

Writer-poet and former IPS officer Thilakavathi also lashed out against Vairamuthu saying why does he claim himself to be a respectable person? “It is for the others to say whether he commands respect. I don’t understand why action has not been taken against him.  Some say he has political connections. Does he belong to any party? Or holding any post in any party? He writes songs after taking money. And if DMK or DK calls him to speak on any of their meetings he would go and speak. I don’t know if he takes money for that as well! That doesn’t mean he has political backup! Also, I wonder why Chinmayi is yet to complain at a police station. Irrespective of that, after such a hue and cry on Vairamuthu, this can be taken as a suo motu case in any court and argued. Action should be taken on him”

A few Kollywood personalities like Seeman, Vijay Milton and Perarasu have, however,  come out in support of Vairamuthu. Stressing how awkward this subject is proving.