Actor Athithi from Kerala, also known as Athira Santosh, recently attempted suicide by consuming poison. She has alleged that she took the extreme step because of the sexual harassment she faced at the hands of director Selva Kannan.
Athithi was set to make her Kollywood debut in “Nedunalvaadai”. However, according to reports, she has lodged a police complaint stating that the director of the film, Selva Kannan, had assaulted her because she refused to reciprocate his “love”.
Athithi is said to have complained to the Nadigar Sangam about the harassment but the organisation reportedly expressed its helplessness in the issue. However, after her suicide attempt, actor Vishal, who is the Secretary General of Nadigar Sangam, met Athithi and spoke to her. Vishal did not take The News Minute’s calls for his response on the issue.
Director Selva Kannan has rubbished Athithi’s allegations.
This is not the first time that a woman actor has approached the Nadigar Sangam regarding the behaviour of a director. Three years ago, another actor from Kerala, Nazriya, had complained against director Sargunam for using a body double of her to shoot scenes that the actor had said she was not comfortable doing. Nazriya had stated that the director had done this without her knowledge.
Although Nazriya had posted a screenshot of the objectionable scene on her Facebook page and stated that she was going to file a complaint against the director for going against contractual agreements, she later withdrew the complaint and even apologized to Sargunam.
A few days ago, “Pink” star Taapsee Pannu, who began her career in South Indian films, expressed her unhappiness with the South Indian film industries’ treatment of women. Taapsee alleged that she was asked to dub her lines “differently” and when she didn’t want to, somebody else did it anyway. She also stated that she faced issues with remuneration, while her male co-stars never had such problems.