Sexual harassment in Tamil cinema too, says actress
The aftershocks of the recent scandal of sexual harassment crimes in the Malayalam film industry have now reached Tamil Nadu. Famed actor as well as producer Kutti Padmini has unearthed similar crimes in Tamil television. In an interview with a tv channel, Padmini made similar allegations that many women had killed themselves because of the constant sexual harassment in the industry and many more suffered silently.
Padmini felt agonized about the ill-treatment of women in the industry and argued that like any other profession such as medicine or law, there is no need to look at the profession with what she termed as “flesh trade.” It was particularly disturbing to note that often, heterosexual directors and technicians working in serials expect women to provide sexual services to them in return for work. "Because there is no way sexual harassment can be established, a number of women do not report it. Other women put up with it because of the good pay,” she said.
Another topic on which Padmini spent considerable time was how whistle-blowers face challenges in the industry. She mentioned the consequences of speaking out, using as examples the singer Chinmayi and actor Sri Reddy who both became blacklisted after alleging sexual harassment. Chinmayi who endorsed verbal abuse against actor Radha Ravi was banned for not adhering to the policy of new members renewing their membership as stated while Sri Reddy membership card was retained by the actors association thus rendering her unable to act in television serials.
Padmini also lashed out against the delay in the Tamil cinema sexual harassment complaints case investigations, highlighting a recent remark, in this regard, made by actor Suresh Gopi, who said that where is the proof to establish such a thing. “How can anyone give proof? They can do lie-detector tests like the CBI is doing,” she talked about how hard it is to prove the guilt of an offender in such instances.
Padmini herself recollected that she was also a victim of child sexual abuse as a child artist and went on to narrate how she was ousted from a Hindi film project after her mother complained about the exploitation. The Incident Lock Focused On One's Focus This helped to highlight the nature of the problem and the difficulties faced by the victims.
The new findings in Tamil Nadu come after the release of the Justice Hema Committee report which uncovered serious matters regarding women’s harassment in the Malayalam film industry.
Another topic on which Padmini spent considerable time was how whistle-blowers face challenges in the industry. She mentioned the consequences of speaking out, using as examples the singer Chinmayi and actor Sri Reddy who both became blacklisted after alleging sexual harassment. Chinmayi who endorsed verbal abuse against actor Radha Ravi was banned for not adhering to the policy of new members renewing their membership as stated while Sri Reddy membership card was retained by the actors association thus rendering her unable to act in television serials.
Padmini also lashed out against the delay in the Tamil cinema sexual harassment complaints case investigations, highlighting a recent remark, in this regard, made by actor Suresh Gopi, who said that where is the proof to establish such a thing. “How can anyone give proof? They can do lie-detector tests like the CBI is doing,” she talked about how hard it is to prove the guilt of an offender in such instances.
Padmini herself recollected that she was also a victim of child sexual abuse as a child artist and went on to narrate how she was ousted from a Hindi film project after her mother complained about the exploitation. The Incident Lock Focused On One's Focus This helped to highlight the nature of the problem and the difficulties faced by the victims.
The new findings in Tamil Nadu come after the release of the Justice Hema Committee report which uncovered serious matters regarding women’s harassment in the Malayalam film industry.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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