Things are so bad in Tamil film industry, I didn’t let my daughters come near it: ‘Kutty’ Padmini

Chennai, Aug 30 (PTI) Actor ‘Kutty’ Padmini and one of the members of the internal complaints committee set up by the South Indian Artistes’ Association (SIAA) in 2019, during #metoomovement, on Friday said nothing will come out of all the actions being promised against sexual abuse in the film industry, unless it is backed by proper laws.

“In fact, the situation is so bad that I have not let my three daughters come anywhere near the Tamil film industry,” the actor told PTI.

Padmini, who had started her acting career as a three-month-old baby and went on to win the National Award for Child Artiste for her performance in ‘Kuzhandaiyum Deivamum (1965)’, alleged that when she was only 10 years old, she faced sexual abuse.

“I told my mother about it and when my mother questioned the producers, we were simply chucked out of the film,” said Padmini.

Even after all these years, the situation is the same, she said, pointing to singer Chinmayi, who had called out lyricist Vairamuthu during the #metoo movement, and actor Sri Reddy, who had alleged that she was assaulted by financier Subramani and his assistant Gopi.

“They were simply washed out from the market,” said Padmini.

When asked about the 10-member committee promised by actor Vishal, who is also the general secretary of SIAA, Padmini said, the committee formed by them post the #metoo wave did not go anywhere.

“There was Revathy, Rohini as well as Suhashini, as powerful as you can get when it comes to women in the industry. Yet, not even a single meeting happened during that time. No one came forward to speak,” she said.

On Thursday, actor Vishal, who interacted with the media on his birthday, was asked about the Justice K Hema Committee report that had resulted in many well-known figures in the Kerala film industry being named and shamed. He promised to form a 10-member committee in the next 10 days.

“It is the duty of Nadigar Sangam (as SIAA is referred to popularly) to hear and address the concerns of women in the industry. The Nadigar Sangam is not just for men; women too play an important role in the film industry,” Vishal said.

But Padmini said these were merely talk.

“The truth is that there is actually no proof for any of these, as women are often talking about it years later. So, it is very easy to cancel them. Take my case, child abuse is quite a serious offence, but the perpetrators went without any punishment. That has been the case always,” she said.