Anchor and Kollywood actor Aishwarya Ragupathi has alleged that she was sexually harassed by an audience member at a pre-release event for Dhanush’s upcoming Captain Miller. The event took place in Chennai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Wednesday, January 3. The issue came to light after a video of Aishwarya confronting a man by catching hold of his collar and slapping him repeatedly has since gone viral. Issuing a statement on her social media handle, Aishwarya said, “In that crowd, a guy harassed me. I faced him immediately and didn't let go until I started beating him. He ran, but I chased him, refusing to release my grip. I wasn't able to accept that he had the guts to grab a woman's body part. I shouted and attacked him,” she said.
The actor further added, “I have good people around me, and I know there are lots of kind and respectful humans in the world. But I feel too scared to be around these few percent of monsters!” It is unclear as of now if a case has been registered with the Chennai police.
Recently, Aishwarya faced another harrowing experience at the pre-release event of Mansoor Ali Khan’s Sarakku that released last year. While on stage, actor Cool Suresh, forcibly garlanded Aishwarya, leading to widespread outrage. It may be noted that Mansoor Ali Khan himself recently made lewd comments with regard to his Leo co-star Trisha. After several follow up statements intensifying his stance, Mansoor also filed a defamation suit against Trisha which was thrown out by the Madras High Court.
Captain Miller directed by Arun Matheswaran, is set to release on January 12 for Pongal. Besides Dhanush, the film also stars Priyanka Mohan, Shiva Rajkumar, Sundeep Kishan, and others.