Actress Radhika Sarathkumar said, ‘Men record women with cameras in vanity vans’
In a recent interview, actress Radhikaa Sarathkumar spoke about an incident when she saw a group of men laughing at a nude video of a female actress which they secretly recorded with a hidden camera inside her vanity van.
Actress Radhikaa Sarathkumar commented on cases of sexual harassment in the Malayalam film industry, and highlighted that such incidents are prevalent in other film industries as well. She was speaking to a news channel when she revealed an incident in which she saw a group of men on a film set watching a nude video of a female actor, which they recorded with a hidden camera inside her vanity van.
Radhika, who has worked in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada film industries, said Asianet News’ ‘Namaste Kerala’ He said he asked about the behavior on set and sought more information, but was told they would “look into it.”
She said, “When I was on a set in Kerala, I saw people gathered together and laughing at something. When I passed by, I saw they were watching a video. I called a crew member and asked him what they were watching. I was told that there were cameras in the vanity van and the footage of the women changing clothes was captured using the same. I was told that you should just type the name of the artist, and you will get the video of them changing clothes. I watched the video.”
However, the actress refused to take any names. When asked which film she was talking about and who all were involved in it, Radhika said, “If we look upwards and spit, it will fall on our face. So I don’t want to take names.”
“I was scared to use the vanity van”
The senior actor said that she was so scared after the incident that she started using her hotel room to change clothes and became careful about her presence inside the vanity van. Radhika further said, “This system is wrong. After the incident, I told other female actors about the hidden cameras. I was scared to go into my vanity van after the incident. It is a private place for us to change clothes, relax or eat food.”
She said that she has seen the videos herself and even confronted the men present there. Radhika also revealed that she warned them against installing any cameras inside the vanity van. “I have seen videos of women changing clothes in the van. I told the team that this is not right. I told the van team that I will beat them up. Slippers “If I find a camera in the car, I will take it off. I was angry. I insisted that I wanted to be safe and I didn’t want the van at all. Then they told me they would investigate it,” she said.
The actor also questioned the delay in the release of the Justice Hema Committee. The final report, which exposed several names involved in sexual harassment cases in the Malayalam film industry, was submitted to the Kerala government in 2019. However, the government kept it secret until recently.
“Why was the Hema committee report delayed?”.
Radhika spoke about the sexual harassment she faced and said that it has affected almost every working woman. Questioning why no man has come forward to expose these perpetrators in the industry, she said, “I was wondering why there was so much delay in releasing the Justice Hema Committee report. I have been in the industry for 46 years. Of course, there have been people who have tried to misbehave with me. Women should have the right to say ‘no’ when such incidents happen. No man in any industry has said anything. So the onus is again on women. Now, they have to take this responsibility of protecting themselves.”
Radhika is known for working in popular films like ‘Theri’, ‘Chandramukhi’, ‘Pokkiri Raja’, ‘Chithi’ and ‘Nallavanukku Nallavan’. She has also worked in Hindi films like ‘Himmatwala’, ‘Lal Baadshah’, ‘Naseeb Apna Apna’ and ‘Mera Pati Sirf Mera Hai’ among others.
