Trigger warning: This article contains references to physical assault and harassment.
Actress Padmapriya Janakiraman recently opened up about a disturbing incident that happened years ago on the sets of a Tamil film. She revealed how the filmmaker slapped her in front of everyone despite media reports claiming the contrary. “For a long time, I felt the issue was me,” Padmapriya was quoted as saying by News 18 during an event in Kozhikode on Tuesday.
The actress further addressed the public and explained how the media falsely accused her of slapping the Tamil director, when the opposite happened. Padmapirya alleged that no one raised the question as to why she complained to the Film Association if any of the reports were true.
Talking about how this reflects a wider issue in the film industry, she said, “When a woman talks about issues, she becomes the issue.”
Continuing her story, Padmapriya revealed that the director was barred from making films for almost six months after the incident. The actress said that after this ‘horrible’ experience she stopped accepting opportunities from Tamil cinema.
Although Padmapriya never revealed the name of the director who misbehaved with her, she did highlight the inequality faced by women in showbiz.
Some time ago, the Malayalam actress had spoken openly about the Hema Committee report and called the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) disorganized. During an interview with Asianet News, Padmapriya said that she never thought that the entire committee would resign as it was an irresponsible move.
She called on film bodies to treat such sensitive cases as “mere sexual harassment allegations” rather than focusing on the “underlying power dynamics”.
Padmapriya shared her personal experience in Mollywood and said, “When I was around 25-26 years old, a major production manager asked me, ‘Aren’t you getting too old? Maybe it’s time to stop ‘ This kind of approach exists in the Malayalam industry.”
Disclaimer: If you need support or you know someone who is struggling with domestic violence or sexual assault, abuse or harassment, please contact your nearest mental health professional or NGO, or speak to someone about Talk about. There are many helplines available for this.
Also read: ‘We are far behind in this…’ Amazing Women Anjali Menon, Nithya Menen, Parvathy, Nadia, Padmapriya
