Padmapriya says Tamil film director slapped her publicly, but media blamed her: ‘No one questioned why…’

Malayalam film actor Padmapriya Janakiraman, known as Padmapriya, recently shared an incident that happened with her on the sets of a Tamil film years ago, where a filmmaker slapped her in front of several people. The actor added that in place of calling the filmmaker out, the media reports blamed her. Padmapriya’s comments have come in the wake of increased focus on misogyny and sexual abuse in Malayalam cinema following the findings of the Justice Hema committee. (Also read: Chef actor Padmapriya explains her absence from Bollywood)

Padmapriya on how she was slapped by a director

Padmapriya was addressing an audience at an event in Kozhikode on Tuesday where she made these remarks but without naming the filmmaker in question or revealing which film she was talking about. She said media reports at the time falsely claimed that she had slapped the director, and no one questioned why she complained to the film associations if that were true.

The 44-year-old actor noted that the incident reflects a broader issue where women’s experiences are often dismissed or misrepresented. Following the incident, the director was barred from making films for 6 months by the industry, but she stopped accepting roles in Tamil films afterwards. She said till then, she did not have any “awful” experience on film sets.

Without mentioning the director’s name, she said after the shooting was over, the director slapped her in front of everyone. The actor, who has worked in a handful of Malayalam films, highlighted the inequality faced by women professionals in the film industry.

Padmapriya’s film career

Padmapriya began her film career with the Telugu film Seenu Vasanthi Lakshmi in 2004 before making a name for herself in Malayalam cinema. She has worked in a handful of Tamil films over the years, the last of which was the 2013 release Thanga Meenkal. She did have a cameo in the 2014 Tamil film Bramman but has since then, not worked in a Tamil film.

Her words assume significance in the wake of shocking revelations in the Justice Hema Committee report, which sheds light on the harassment and exploitation faced by women in the Malayalam film industry.

With inputs from PTI