Following the recent release of the Justice Hema Committee Report, which revealed several cases of sexual harassment in the Malayalam film industry, new allegations have emerged involving a Tamil director. Sowmya, a well-known Malayalam actress, has accused the Tamil director of serious misconduct. Sowmya claims that the director abused her sexually and emotionally. She says that he kissed her inappropriately while his wife was away and treated her like a “daughter” to manipulate her. According to the actress, she felt pressured to participate in his film despite her discomfort.
In an interview with NDTV, Sowmya shared, “I was 18 and in my first year of college… I came from a very sheltered background, and my parents knew nothing about movies. This opportunity (to act in a Tamil film) came through my college theatre contact. As a child, I was enamoured by the actor Revathy, who lived near my house at that time. I was in a fantasy world. So I went for a screen test with this couple. I was a child; I didn’t know much.”
Sowmya mentioned that she continued to attend dance rehearsals and practice sessions every day. Gradually, the director took full advantage of her, and at one point, he forced himself on her and raped her. This went on for almost a year while she was in college.
The allegations have added to the ongoing turmoil in the film industry and entertainment news world, which has seen multiple high-profile accusations following the Hema Committee Report. This report led to several FIRs against prominent figures in Malayalam cinema. The actress added, “During the first outdoor shoots, he didn’t speak to me. The agreement was that his wife would be the director, but that was on paper; in reality, he was directing the whole movie. And so I was under his control… and he gave me the ‘angry silent treatment’ like a lot of men are used to doing. And because of our conditioning in patriarchy… about authority figures, particularly intimidating men who express anger very easily, I was very scared.”
The actress also revealed that an actor who harassed her when she used to do movies has already been named in the Hema Committee report. Sowmya has indicated that she will share the director’s identity with a special police team set up by the Kerala government to investigate these cases. She urges other survivors to come forward and report abuse. These new claims highlight the continuing issues of sexual misconduct in the film industry, affecting both Tamil and Malayalam cinema.
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