The flood of sexual assault and rape allegations roiling the Malayalam film industry has found echoes in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, after popular actor Sowmya accused a Tamil director of horrific mental, physical, and sexual assault - including the insertion of a rod into her genitals as "entertainment".
In an emotional but powerful interview with NDTV she spoke about being "groomed as a sex slave" by the director, whose identity she has chosen to withhold at this time. Sowmya said the man - who approached her, she said, with his wife and when she was 18 years old - inflicted mental torture by claiming her as his "daughter" and declaring he wanted a child with her.
She said she would reveal the man's identity to the special police team formed by the Kerala government, which is investigating multiple cases of alleged sexual assault in Mollywood.
"I was 18 and in my first year of college... I came from a very sheltered background and my parents knew nothing about movies. This opportunity (to act in a Tamil film) came through my college theatre contact. As a child I was enamoured by the actor Revathy, who lived near my house at that time...I was in a fantasy world. So I went for a screen test with this couple..."
"I was a child, I didn't know much," Sowmya told NDTV.
She indicated her family had been arm-twisted into allowing her to act, saying the director told her father they had spent large amounts of money on her screen test. This was after Sowmya's red flags; "... I said I wasn't comfortable with the man. I said this at my first meeting."
However, Sowmya told NDTV she felt "obligated" to act in that movie.
"During the first outdoor shoots he didn't speak to me. The agreement was that his wife would be the director but that was on paper... in reality he was directing the whole movie."
"And so I was under his control... and he gave me the 'angry silent treatment' like a lot of men are used to doing. And because of our conditioning in patriarchy... about authority figures, particularly intimidating men who express anger very easily, I was very scared," she said.
Sowmya, fighting to keep her emotions in check, then outlined how she was "groomed" by the man who claimed her as his daughter, and whose own daughter had left, accusing him of rape.
"... but they told me she (the couple's daughter) was lying. So they brought me into their home... I was a teenager who was rebellious at home and suddenly this couple was nice to me, bribing me with good food and milkshakes, and telling me good things. That was the grooming process... he knew fully well what he was doing," she said firmly.
And then, Sowmya told NDTV, the sexual assault and rape took place.
"One fine day, when his wife wasn't around, this man, while calling me his daughter, kissed me. I completely froze. I was so desperate to tell my friends but couldn't... I was ashamed, thinking I had done something wrong and that I was obligated to be nice to this man..."
"So I continued going for practice, for dance rehearsals... every day I went back and gradually, step by step, this man completely used my body to his advantage. At some point he forced himself on me... so he raped me. This went on for close to a year while I was in college."
During this time Sowmya said the man repeatedly called her his "daughter" and also that he wanted a child with her. "He messed with my brain..." she said, the anger palpable.
The sexual abuse continued in the Malayalam film industry as well; Sowmya did three films that were hits back in the '90s. "A co-star who sexually abused me has now been named in the Hema Committee report" she said, "directors, actors, and technicians abused me. There were also rights violations. One person spat pan on me." When asked if there was consent, she said "No".
"It took 30 years for me to heal and recover from this sense of 'shame'... I encourage survivors to report all such abuse."
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Rape and assault allegations against senior Malayalam actors and film directors have been pouring in since the Justice Hema Committee report was released last month. Multiple cases have been filed against top actors, including Mukesh, who is also an MLA with the ruling CPIM.
READ | "I Have 2 Daughters. We Need...": Tamil Director On Kerala MeToo Row
Earlier this week the Tamil film industry finally broke its silence on this subject, with Venkat Prabhu, a director, told NDTV it is time for it to address the allegations head-on. He emphasised the need for a safer working environment for women in the industry. "I have two daughters..." he said.
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Similar allegations have also been made by an expelled Congress leader - Simi Rose Bell John, who has said she will approach Sonia Gandhi - against her former party, adding to the political row as the opposition outfit and the BJP target Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's administration.
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