‘BOLLYWOOD PROMPT ON #METOO CASES’
Actor Parvathy, who made her Bollywood debut with romantic comedy Qarib Qarib Single (2017), said it took her years to realise she was assaulted as a child and it’s still a daily affair for her to consider herself a survivor. The south Indian actor also praised Bollywood saying the Malayalam film industry needs to learn from it and act immediately in cases of sexual harassment.
“It happened to me when I was very young. I was three or four years old. And then to speak about it, it took another 12 years,” Parvathy said, adding, “It’s still a struggle for me on a daily basis to realise, acknowledge and get past it. And let my friends know, my parents cope with it. Survival is not just a physical thing. It’s a constant mental affair. So, I kind of really draw a lot of power from that word.”
Parvathy is part of the Women In Cinema Collective — a Malayalam film industry outfit formed soon after the shocking assault of an actor in February 2017. She said Bollywood also needs to have a body like WCC to address and monitor cases of sexual harassment, but lauded prompt decisions by top Bollywood actors and filmmakers to distance themselves from those accused as the #MeToo movement gained ground.
“We were amazed to see that men, who are in forefront, who are successful producers and actors, coming ahead and lending their voice to this. That is something we are missing out not just in the Malayalam industry but Tamil and Telugu industries as well,” she said.
“Their voice is going to catapult (the cause) to another level, so it will be easier to follow up. This is commendable but there is an alarming silence from a lot of others,” she added.
In the wake of the #MeToo movement, Aamir Khan pulled out of Mogul after sexual harassment charges against its director Subhash Kapoor. Akshay Kumar called for action against Sajid Khan, the director of his upcoming film Housefull 4, after several women accused him of sexual harassment. AGENCIES
It happened to me when I was very young. I was three or four years old. I didn’t ask for it. But I was assaulted. It took 17 years to realise it did happen to me. And then to speak about it, it took me another 12 years. PARVATHY ACTOR