Padmapriya said that the incident highlights a broader issue where women’s experiences are often dismissed or misrepresented.
Published Oct 02, 2024 | 5:30 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 02, 2024 | 5:30 PM
Actor Padmapriya. (Instagram)
Actor Padmapriya, who had worked primarily in Malayalam films, recently spoke about the physical abuse she faced on the sets of a Tamil film.
Speaking at an event in Kozhikode, Kerala, Padmapriya alleged that, she was slapped by a Tamil director in front of the entire team on the film set.
Further questioning the media for reporting the opposite at the time, Padmapriya asked, “If you search online about the incident, you will see reports claiming I slapped the director. I just want to ask, if I slapped him, why would I complain to the association?”
The actor said that the incident highlights a broader issue where women’s experiences are often dismissed or misrepresented, “When a woman speaks about an issue, then actually the issue is with the woman and not with the issue at all.”
Speaking of the ramifications of speaking up, Padmapriya said, “The director did get a ban for six months, but after the incident, I stopped getting any films in Tamil.” The actor however did not take any names.
Padmapriya also spoke about the inequality faced by women professionals in the film industry.
The statements come at a time when the film industries across South India, especially the Malayalam industry have been grappling with sexual assault allegations. Many woman actors and other film professionals have recently, after the release of the Hema Committee report come forward to speak of the discrimination and harassment they faced on film sets.
Padmapriya herself had spoken on the Hema Committee report in September.
Reacting to the mass resignation of AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artists) executive committee, Padmapriya had termed the actors’s body in Malayalam cinema, as a “disorganised” and “ineffective” organisation.
She described the mass resignation as an “irresponsible move” and noted that the organisation “lacked both backbone and intelligence”.
In an interview with Asianet News, Padmapriya stated that she did not expect the mass resignations from AMMA. She criticised the film bodies for treating the current issues “merely as sexual harassment allegations” rather than addressing the “underlying power dynamics” that enable such misconduct.
Padmapriya also criticised the Kerala government for withholding the Justice Hema Committee Report for over four and a half years. She remarked that merely forming a special investigation team was insufficient.
Further, she reiterated that sexual harassment existed in the Malayalam film industry for years due to the “power groups”.
(Edited by Sumavarsha Kandula)
