The Hema Committee Report has piqued everyone’s interest and shaken people across the film industry to their core. Following the report’s release, it revealed widespread sexual exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema business, prompting multiple accusations against prominent figures in the industry. Having said that, actor Sujatha, who goes by the screen name Sowmya claimed that she was groomed to be a sex slave by a Tamil director at the age of 18!
What Sowmya Said
In a conversation with NDTV, Sowmya anonymously that she made some connections in the industry through the theatre group in her college when she was 18. This is when the Tamil filmmaker approached the actor’s father to cast her in a film. She went on to reveal that she felt unsafe since the first meeting, however, she felt inclined to work with him as he had spent a lot of money casting her. However, as soon as she started coming on set, the director started giving an angry silent treatment, which made Sowmya intimidated and she tried not to get into his bad books.
She then said that the director and his wife got her a house and pampered her with food and milkshakes. She went on to narrate a disturbing incident. She said that one day when the filmmaker’s wife wasn’t around, he kissed her while calling her his daughter. She revealed that she froze at the moment and couldn’t tell her friends even if she wanted to. She felt as if she had done something wrong and felt ashamed about it and that she had to be obligated to be this man. She recalled visiting his house often after the incident for rehearsals.
She revealed that the director step-by-step used her body to his advantage and then eventually raped her. She revealed that this went on for about a year while she was in college. During this time, this director continued calling her daughter and also said that he wanted a child with her. “He messed with my brain. Sowmya said.
The assault continued in the Malayalam film industry. In the ’90s Sowmya did three back-to-back films. She revealed that a co-star who harassed her has been named in the Hemma Committee Report. She went on to say that directors, actors, and technicians harassed her. It took her 30 years to get over this sense of shame and encourage other victims to voice their incidents.
Picture Credits: The Free Press Journal