"Whenever we speak the truth, repercussions are bound to happen. And I'm ready to face them." — Sreelekha Mitra.
Published Sep 13, 2024 | 2:55 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 13, 2024 | 3:00 PM
Sreelekha Mitra. (Supplied)
In the aftermath of the release of the Hema Committee Report, many female actors came forward to speak about the sexual harassment they faced in various film industries. Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra was one among them.
She accused Malayalam director Ranjith of misbehaving with her in the past. Following the allegations, an FIR under IPC Section 354 (assault or criminal force on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), was filed against him.
Ranjith had also resigned as chairman of the state-run Kerala Chalachitra Academy.
Sreelekha Mitra, in a recent interview with the Frontline, spoke of the reasons why she kept quiet all these years. “I thought I had put a lid on it because this manner of objectifying women in society has always been there,” she was quoted as saying.
Elaborating on the incident, Sreelekha Mitra said the incident happened in 2009 when she was called for the audition of Paleri Manikam: Oru Pathira Kolapathakathinte Katha by the said filmmaker.
She alleged that director Joshy Joseph mediated the entire proceedings afterwards.
The Bengali actor stood firm on her allegations and demanded that Ranjith must own up to his mistake.
Sreelekha Mitra noted that she had been repeating for the past two weeks that it wasn’t a sexual assault per se; it was more like he was testing the waters. As the case is sub-judice, she didn’t say anything further.
“The intent was inappropriate. I was completely new in that particular state and in that area, with people I didn’t know. I got back the next day. Back then, social media had not become as powerful as it is now. I narrated the entire incident to Joshy Joseph, and after coming back, I spoke about it with my ex-husband. I thought I had put a lid on it because this manner of objectifying women in society has always been there,” the Bengali actor said.
Further, Sreelekha Mitra mentioned that as far as the film industry goes, it’s not that she is the only one who is raising the issues of sexual harassment, exploitation, or objectification of women.
“Many tried to voice their anger before but were either silenced or were too scared to take names of the abusers. The problem is that this is very normalised in our industry.”
The Bengali actor recalled that when the #MeToo movement took place in Hollywood, she and Pooja Bhatt spoke about it in India. “We thought it would take time for the movement to take place here, but it has happened now.”
She added, “Whenever we speak the truth, repercussions are bound to happen. And I’m ready to face them.”
Additionally, Sreelekha Mitra noted that there would be backlashes, particularly as she had taken the names of some powerful people, including the ones in Kolkata. According to her, it’s all about power and the entitlement of the powerful to misuse their power. “Ranjith happens to be one such powerful person.”
She stressed that she had nothing to lose and didn’t want favours from anyone.
When asked if she had lost work after her revelations about sexual harassment by Bengali filmmakers, Sreelekha Mitra confirmed that she didn’t get any work after that.
The actor also stated that when she wasn’t offered work, despite delivering back-to-back hits, she understood how women are forced to have a “relationship with someone powerful” in the industry.
(Edited by Sumavarsha)
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