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Sruthi Hariharan to Chinmayi Sripada, Parvathy: South stars who bravely called out men in power during MeToo
It was brave enough of them to name powerful men from the industry; they put forth their opinion and few applauded those brave women on public platforms.
Content Warning: This article includes references to sexual offence and harassment.
It has been 3 years to #MeToo Movement in India and today, women who shared their pain are facing the consequences while people who were called out are back at work. With silence surrounding the movement, none of them have been proven guilty or acquitted. A bevvy of Bollywood and South Indian celebs came forward and shared their stories of sexual harassment, abuse, and assault. But the question is did anything change after that? However, it was brave enough of them to name powerful men from the industry; they put forth their opinion and few applauded those brave women on public platforms.
Singer Chinmayi Sripaada was among the first few celebrities from the South to react to the #MeToo movement. She took to her social media account and called out Tamil poet Vairamuthu while sharing her horrifying experience. She did not stop there and went on to become the voice of the other 17 women who chose to remain anonymous. Chinmayi did face consequences for speaking up. She lost a lot of work and was also banned from Dubbing Artists Union.
Year 2005/2006 maybe.
Veezhamattom. An album for Srilankan Tamizhs that I had sung in, as had Manikka Vinayagam sir.
I dont remember if it was a book or an album release or both now; the performances and launch happened in Switzerland in (Bern / Zurich maybe)
And you ask why victims dont name him?!
To hell with those of you who do.
My Friend will remain anonymous.@vairamuthu
Why people cannot share at the risk of their careers.
Samantha Akkineni was among many other actresses who spoke up in support of the women who came forward with their #MeToo stories. Appreciating singer Chinmayi's courage to call out Vairamuthu, Samantha Akkineni had tweeted then, "I am so happy that more and more women are finding the strength to say #MeToo. Your bravery is commendable. I am sorry though that some people, even other women themselves will shame and burden you with the question of proof and doubt. Just know that you are saving many little girls with your voice. I support the #MeTooIndia movement." Actresses like Parvathy, Rima Kallingal, Geetu Mohandas, director Anjali Menon, among others recently slammed the ONV Academy for providing a platform to Vairamuthu.
(1/2)I am so happy that more and more women are finding the strength to say #MeToo . Your bravery is commendable . I am sorry though that some people ,even other women themselves will shame and burden you with the question of proof and doubt. Just know that you are saving
(2/2) many little girls with your voice . Thankyou . I support the #MeTooIndia movement
Varalaxmi Sarathkumar was another actress who highlighted some painful and horrifying stories. "It’s alarming to hear the number of #metoo stories.They say it’s better late than never.Thank you to all the women that r being so strong to come out with their stories I stood up last year #metoo I urge every woman affected to stand up,we need to fight for our rights #TimesUp," she tweeted.
Singer Shaktishree Gopalan also defended Chinmayi for showing immense courage for calling out names of people in power.
I have only love,respect & admiration for @Chinmayi -not just fr the brilliant artist she is, but also fr being fiercely honest and doing the right thing. It takes immense courage to come forward and expose predators who are in positions of power.#believewomen #istandwithchinmayi
Aditi Rao Hydari did not name anyone but her tweet had a lot to say. "Slow clap for the dizzying heights of hypocrisy… People who are clearly guilty of major harassment giving gyaan on the #MeTooIndia movement."
Casting director Tess Joseph made a brave move as she shared her experience and called out Madhavan Mukesh. “I was the only woman in a crew of men. One night when the calls where never ending I stayed in my colleague room. And @LeMeridien Chennai you are the worst for being enablers when I asked you why my room floor was different so nonchalantly I was told Mr Kumar asked for it,” Tess wrote on Twitter.
Took 19 yrs but here is my story #MeTooIndia #TimesUp #Metoo https://t.co/8R5PXAlll6
Popular actress Sruthi Hariharan of Solo fame had accused Arjun Sarja of sexual misconduct. She called named him for allegedly misbehaving with her during the shoot of Nibunan.
Bigg Boss Tamil fame Yashika Aanand claimed that a 'big director' (without naming anyone) wanted to 'sleep with her' for a movie. Yashika said, "Me Too is a very big movement which is going on and it is something all women face in various industries. Even I have faced this. There was a time when I went to meet a big director. He is like a father figure to a big hero in the industry. I don't want to give the name because the entire incident was something that took a long time to move away from my mind."
She further said, "When I went for the audition, he (director) told my mother to ask me to wait outside and then told her that he wanted to speak to her alone. Then he told my mom that your daughter has to sleep with me to get the role. When this happened, I was wondering why we should compromise to become a big star in the industry and why these people taking advantage of their position. A lot of these incidents are happening and now, when everybody is coming together to get against this, I am glad and I will definitely support this movement. We have to be an example in this."
Sridevika and Archana Padmini are others who boldly named the offenders. Mollywood actress Sridevika opened up about the letter she wrote to the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA). She also went on to reveal how a director troubled her in the middle of the night for almost four nights, and how the AMMA secretary had dissuaded her from proceeding with an issue regarding payment of her salary as it would hamper her career. "My letter was to urge them to change the prevailing system. When my post gathered attention, AMMA general secretary Idavela Babu called me to ask what the problem was. His reply was, ‘All of us are like family, and problems must be resolved within our family’. Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) was the only organisation that asked me if I wanted to talk about it,” she was quoted as saying by ETimes.
A lot of actresses faced trolling and abuse on social media for making the charge. Life completely changed for them. Many even lost work for speaking up. As Chinmayi revealed recently, Samantha is pressurised constantly for speaking and working with her. Chinmayi in her Instagram post revealed, "Not many in my own music fraternity have taken a stand that Sam has constantly taken despite pressure not to. It is not easy to stand up to the Radha Ravis of the world. And she will forever be my rockstar."
She captioned the post clarifying, "BTW - this is not showcasing myself as a victim: this is just the fact of my life. The truth doesn’t change because you don’t believe it."
DISCLAIMER: If you need support or know someone who is struggling with sexual harassment or abuse, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist, NGO or speak to someone about it. There are several helplines available for the same.
