The ongoing investigation into sexual abuse within the Malayalam film industry, spurred by the Justice Hema Committee report, has prompted another actress, Sowmya, to come forward with her own harrowing experience. Sowmya has accused a Tamil director of sexual harassment and rape, detailing a year of abuse that began when she was just 18 years old.
Sowmya describes how the director and his wife, who she initially believed to be her mentors, manipulated her into a dependent role by claiming her as their “daughter.” This manipulation, she alleges, paved the way for the director’s escalating abuse. He subjected her to mental torture, physical assault, and ultimately, rape.
“I was 18 and in my first year of college… I came from a very sheltered background and my parents knew nothing about movies,” Sowmya told NDTV. “This opportunity (to act in a Tamil film) came through my college theatre contact. As a child, I was enamoured by the actor Revathy, who lived near my house at that time… I was in a fantasy world. So I went for a screen test with this couple…”
Initially, Sowmya expressed discomfort with the director. “I said I wasn’t comfortable with the man. I said this at my first meeting,” she revealed. However, her family was pressured into allowing her to act after the director claimed they had invested significant money in her screen test.
Despite claiming his wife would be the director, Sowmya alleges the director was ultimately in control. He maintained a manipulative and controlling presence throughout the film production. “One fine day, when his wife wasn’t around, this man, while calling me his daughter, kissed me. I completely froze,” Sowmya shared. “I was so desperate to tell my friends but couldn’t… I was ashamed, thinking I had done something wrong and that I was obligated to be nice to this man…”
The abuse continued, culminating in the director raping Sowmya. “So I continued going for practice, for dance rehearsals… every day I went back and gradually, step by step, this man completely used my body to his advantage. At some point, he forced himself on me… so he raped me. This went on for close to a year while I was in college,” she said.
Sowmya also revealed that another actor, who sexually abused her, has been named in the Hema Committee report. The report has sparked a wave of accusations and calls for accountability within the Malayalam film industry. As the investigation continues, Sowmya’s story adds to the growing list of testimonies detailing the systemic abuse faced by women in the entertainment industry.
