Actress Srilekha Mitra pulls out of Kochi event after harassment allegations against Ranjith
Bengali actress Srilekha Mitra has withdrawn from a Kochi seminar due to media scrutiny. A few days ago, she had made serious allegations against Malayalam film producer Ranjith.
Bengali actress Srilekha Mitra has pulled out of a seminar in Kochi after she accused Malayalam filmmaker Ranjith of sexual harassment. She had accused him of sexual harassment. On Sunday, September 1, the actress shared her decision through an Instagram post. She spoke about the intense media scrutiny she has been facing following the sexual harassment allegations against filmmaker Ranjith.
In a detailed post, Srilekha Mitra shared how the month of August was eventful for her. “August has always made me feel its ‘August’ presence… my birth month, and the month of my demise, my brother’s birth month, and the month and day of my very dear friend’s demise. 15th August is our Independence Day and the day I stepped out of my ‘shashur bari’ and started afresh (didn’t even know how).”
She added, “This August also started with the #RGKarRapeMurderCase which enraged all of us across all sectors, then the #Jhargramelephantkilling incident happened and then something which I never thought would come out in the open 15 years later – the #MalayalamFilmIndustry incident and how I became an integral part of the whole #MeToo movement.”
Here is his post:
Explaining how recalling the incident affected him, he wrote, “The press media across the country harassed me repeatedly telling me about the said incident, which affected me very badly, as happened here when I named people from the Bengali film industry…remember? (sic).”
Srilekha Mitra apologised for pulling out of the Kochi seminar. She said, “Yes, I took a leave from every work and travelled to the hills where the peace soothes my soul. It was a birthday gift to myself and I gave no justification to anyone for my act. I am sorry that I could not go to Kerala for the seminar, which was cancelled because of me.”
She concluded her post by writing, “I needed a breather as I have the right to live my life the way I like and I have never bowed down to the misogynistic society and film industry. Apologies once again for rejecting your offer Mr Joshi Joseph. Hope to come back in better times. I have done my part, now let me be.”
Bengali actress Srilekha Mitra had filed a complaint against Ranjit accusing him of harassment. Following the complaint, he resigned from the post of Chairman of the Kerala State Film Academy.
In the complaint, she alleged that Ranjit had behaved inappropriately towards her while discussing a script in 2009.