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December is the follow-up month at TNM where we go back to headlines of the past for a status update. In this series, we strive to bring the focus back to promises made by governments, revisit official investigations that should have been completed by now and exhume issues of public interest that lost steam over time.
It has been four years since singer Chinmayi Sripada’s membership from the the South Indian Cine, Television Artistes and Dubbing Artistes Union (SICTADAU) was axed, just weeks after she came out in support of the women who had named actor-politician Radha Ravi, president of the dubbing union, in the Me Too movement. Chinmayi had eventually acquired an interim stay on the ban, which was later extended by the court. But even as she remains a member of the union on paper, she continues to face a shadow ban to this date, especially in the Tamil film industry, the singer tells TNM. While dubbing offers are almost nil, opportunities to sing have also become rare, she says.
It was in November 2018 that Chinmayi was expelled from the union, soon after she voiced support to two women who had accused Radha Ravi of sexual misconduct. Simultaneously, many had raised concerns regarding Radha Ravi’s authoritarian grip over the dubbing body. Around the same time, Chinmayi also named lyricist Vairamuthu as a sexual harasser, detailing how she had allegedly been asked by the organiser of a programme in Switzerland to “cooperate” with Vairamuthu.
Chinmayi’s solidarity with the survivors who named Radha Ravi, however, came at the cost of her career. The singer says there have been several instances where she was close to bagging a dubbing gig, only to be dropped at the last minute. Just recently, even after a lead actor Chinmayi has worked with for years insisted that she dub for her in an upcoming film, she was ultimately not signed for the project. “I know calls were made,” Chinmayi says, adding that she has also been dropped from a number of playback singing projects in Tamil in the eleventh hour. Meanwhile, she has continued to dub for Telugu movies including Paagal (2021) and Sita Ramam (2022), among others.
“As far as opportunities are concerned, my stance against fraudsters in the dubbing union and the entertainment industry in general has made a world of difference,” the singer says. In fact, director PS Mithran’s Hero (2019) is the only Tamil film Chinmayi has dubbed for, after the 2018 film 96 starring Vijay Sethupathi and Trisha. As per sources, the only reason her dubbing for actor Kalyani Priyadarshan in Hero could happen was because it was revealed only at the last minute, shortly before the release of the film.
Before the shadow ban, Chinmayi had dubbed for actors including Samantha, Tamannaah, Trisha, Priyanka Chopra, and Amy Jackson in Tamil. She has also received the Nandi Award for best female dubbing artist in 2011 and 2014, for her work in Ye Maaya Chesave and Manam respectively.
The SICTADAU had cited non-payment of fees as the reason for the cancellation of Chinmayi’s membership. The singer subsequently explained that the union had asked her to pay Rs 5,000 as lifetime membership fee, which she had transferred on February 11, 2016. She, however, admitted that neither the union nor she followed up to get a receipt for the payment. In December 2018, after Chinmayi’s expulsion, the SICTADAU held a meeting with its dubbing coordinators and announced that the singer has to pay a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh and submit an apology note to obtain a new membership.
In February next year, the playback singer filed a civil suit against the union for firing her without prior notice. Subsequently, a civil court in Chennai granted an interim stay on her ban from the union in March 2019. The stay, which was extended by the court in April that year, is still in effect.
“The union had initially challenged the maintainability of the suit on technical grounds, but the court ultimately dismissed this in 2021. We are now proceeding to trial,” Chinmayi says. “The union, meanwhile, has been attempting to drag on an otherwise straightforward case by skipping hearings. Ten to fifteen hearings have been held in connection with the case so far, including the latest on December 19 this year,” she adds.
Besides, earlier in 2018, Chinmayi was named among 96 members who were listed as ineligible to vote in the SICTADAU elections over flouting of the union’s rules and failure to pay membership fees. This list was released before the allegations against Radha Ravi and Vairamuthu had come up. Among them, however, only Chinmayi’s membership has been cancelled, she says.
The popular singer also disputes the union’s rules that prevent non-members from seeking dubbing work in the industry. “Even the Indian Constitution allows us to work in any state or industry. Then why can’t non-members seek dubbing work?” Chinmayi asks. She further points out that many celebrities including Suriya, Karthi, and Khushboo have received honorary lifetime memberships in the union. “I was promised the same, but I did not get it. This begs the question: if they can continue as members without paying the due amount, why can’t I?”
Later in 2020, challenging Radha Ravi, Chinmayi had applied to contest for the post of president in the SICTADAU elections. However, her application was rejected on grounds of ineligibility.
Chinmayi had initially decided to contest the move in court, but now she has dropped the plan, she tells TNM. “Many more irregularities are yet to be brought to the limelight. As of now, we are giving priority to the membership case. Besides, unlike Radha Ravi who can use the union’s welfare fund to fight the case in court, I will have to use my own money,” the singer says. Nonetheless, she has decided to contest in the upcoming union elections in 2024.
There is still no clarity on whether action has been taken against the other 96 members who were on the 2018 not-allowed-to-vote list. Chinmayi also points out that despite the multiple sexual harassment allegations against Radha Ravi, who has been the union’s president for more than three terms, an inquiry has not been held in this regard. The union has also even failed to form an internal committee (IC) to receive and redress complaints of sexual harassment at the workplace.TNM tried reaching out to office bearers in the dubbing union (during the term 2022-2024) seeking information regarding the IC, but is yet to receive a response from them.
“One obvious progressive step is the introduction of an IC in the Tamil Nadu Vellithirai and Chinnathirai Voice Artistes Union, of which I am the vice president for a second consecutive term. The union has set a precedent to all other film industry unions with regard to addressing the issue sexual harassment in workplaces. The other unions need to follow this path to ensure justice to its women members,” says Chinmayi.
She also notes that an effort was made by the Cine Musicians’ Union to form an IC, even though they haven’t been able to regroup after the COVID-19 pandemic. “As far as I know, only Rahman sir’s [AR Rahman] studio has an active IC,” she says.