Maala Parvathi, a popular actor and activist in the Malayalam film industry who actively speaks out on women's safety and social concerns, also has horrific stories of encounters with “sexual predators”. A shiver runs down one's spine.
She narrated some of the traumatic experiences she faced while shooting for Malayalam films, and she felt angry and frustrated every time she recalled them. She narrated her experience in an interview with News18 at a time when the southern film industry is witnessing a series of exposés in which women share their stories of sexual exploitation and mental harassment, sometimes resulting in job losses.
In 2010, Parvati was shooting for a film called Apoorvaragam, in which she played the mother of heroine Nithya Menen. Her co-star is from the Tamil film industry and plays the role of her husband.
“There is a scene in the movie where my daughter Nancy (Nithya Menen) is playfully running around me and pulling on my sari. The man who plays the role of my husband is supposed to playfully touch Nancy. During the shooting , he reached out his right hand to touch Nancy, but he used his left hand to grope me hard.
At that moment, she only felt a sharp pain, but she was too surprised to react. Director Siby Mallaire later requested that the scene be reshot without the actor's hands being used in the scene.
“The man knew what he had done. I felt a twinge. The next day, we had a more detailed scene, but I was so emotional and so mentally depressed that every time he faced me and delivered a conversation, I could All he did was stare at him,” she told News18.
This cold, unpleasant eye contact led to the actor filming the scene 16 times. After the 16th take, Parvati said the co-star had the audacity to ask her if she had done something to force them to retake it so many times.
“I kept staring at him without blinking. He would look at me and mess up his lines. The whole movie was torture for me because we had several scenes as a couple. , we have to have physical contact, like hugging or sitting together, which is so painful,” she said. She felt her performance in the movie was not up to par because she felt uncomfortable and disturbed when she saw the man who thought it was his prerogative to take advantage of women.
The incident affected Maala Parvathi so much that she refused to do films for the next six months. It was her husband Satheesh who encouraged her to get back on her feet and said one should never back down. He advised her that just because “he didn't know how to behave, he shouldn't confine himself to the house. You win the battle only when you fight it.”
Later, she found a role in a movie with a professional working atmosphere, and slowly started to find her footing again.
Then came the 2019 movie Happy Sardar. .
“I paid Rs 22,500 from my own pocket to rent the caravan. Some seniors on the set asked me how I thought I was eligible for the caravan. I questioned them and said that I paid from my own pocket and they should not interfere . Her other female co-stars also use the camper to take a break, but the story doesn't end there.
One day, around 10:30 pm, while she was filming the movie, she received a call from one of her young co-stars saying they felt the caravan move and roll away. They said they heard men laughing loudly and drinking outside the caravan. They wanted her to come over immediately and fix the problem.
“I finished filming and rushed towards the caravan to find it wasn't there. Since it was raining, I followed the tracks and found it parked under a secluded, dark tree about 800 meters away. There were several people at the scene There were bodyguards and they ran away when they saw me,” she recalled.
Parvati takes the girls and takes them back to the set. The next day, when she complained about the horrific incident to a senior Malayalam actor, he allegedly retorted: “Are you their mother hen? Have you taken the responsibility of protecting them? You are here. For action or for film? Parvati said she walked away in disgust, feeling that it was people like this who made the industry and their workplace unsafe.
The Malayalam actor said she has once again raised her voice against a man on a film set leering at all women while sitting on a chair, making them feel uncomfortable. She reported to the authorities and requested that the man be removed from the set, but found that from then on, the crew no longer provided water and food.
“These two things that happened during the shooting of ‘Happy Saada’ in 2019 changed the way cinema was developed. For someone who was doing 20 films a year, I started getting offers for four to five films. And then it happened Even today, I face the repercussions of speaking out for justice,” she told News18.
Disclaimer: Due to legal and ethical guidelines, we generally do not disclose the name of the victim in cases of sexual harassment or assault. The name is included in this article because the person has publicly identified himself or herself in connection with the case. We respect the privacy and dignity of all individuals involved and urge readers to approach this matter with caution.
