In a statement that has left many baffled, Me Too-accused popular Tamil lyricist Vairamuthu has said that an investigative body like the Hema Committee, must be set up in all large industries including the Tamil film industry. Vairamuthu was speaking to media persons at the CPI(M)’s Chennai office on September 14, when he said, “I think that a committee similar to the Hema Committee, should be formed in each important industry, across states. Women in the country are yearning for security not just in film industries, but in all professions. Women are exploited and subjected to sexual harassment everywhere.”
Vairamuthu was accused of sexual harassment by multiple women from the film and music industries, including well-known singers Chinmayi Sripaada and Bhuvana Seshan and independent musician Sindhuja Rajaram. All three survivors have previously spoken to TNM about their traumatic experiences. However, no action has been taken against Vairamuthu, while the survivors have faced backlash.
Further, Vairamuthu continues to be felicitated at various events by political parties including the ruling-DMK with whom he enjoys a long-standing friendship. In 2018, the lyricst had dismissed the Me Too movement as “fashionable”. It must be noted that at the press meet, journalists asked his opinion on the Hema Committee report rather than on the accusations against him.
Irked by Vairamuthu’s comments on the Hema Committee, Chinmayi said in a statement: “Anywhere else this Tamilian Harvey Weinstein would be investigated at the very least. Gangrape cases have evidence fudged and dont get justice in our country so wishing for justice is too much in India.” The singer was comparing Vairamuthu to Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, currently serving two jail sentences of 23 years and 16 years for abusing at least 80 women in the industry over a period of 30 years.
Chinmayi also added, “Almost 20 women have named Vairamuthu, yet the shamelessness to platform him requires a special wiring.”
Vairamuthu was first accused in 2018 after a woman journalist shared allegations made by an 18-year-old woman who had worked with him. A day after coming out in support of the 18-year-old, Chinmayi herself spoke about the harassment she had faced from Vairamuthu, between 2000 to 2006. At the time, she had recounted how the lyricist had allegedly demanded that she visit his hotel room in Lucerne (Switzerland), where they were both performing. When she refused, he allegedly intimidated her saying her career was over.
On another occasion, Vairamuthu had allegedly threatened Chinmayi that he would tell a certain politician that she had spoken ill of him on stage.
In the face of increasing social media and film industry backlash against Chinmayi and other women who came forward with their allegations against Vairamuthu, US-based independent musician Sindhuja Rajaram spoke on record to TNM about her experience when she was 18.
Sindhuja, who was working with Kosmic Studio at the time, told TNM that she had contacted Vairamuthu to ask if he could help relax the night curfew at a women’s hostel owned by him where she was staying, as she had to work late hours. She had hoped that since Vairamuthu also works in the music and film industry, he would be understanding of her predicament. Following this, Vairamuthu allegedly summoned her to AR Rahman’s studio, claiming to have a work offer for her. The meeting, she said, was brief, but Vairamuthu called her the next day, this time claiming that Rahman was impressed with her. The calls became increasingly frequent after that, Sindhuja alleged, adding that Vairamuthu kept making intimate overtures despite her indicating disinterest.
Sindhuja also told TNM that a female acquaintance at Sun TV Network had gone through a similar experience with Vairamuthu and that he had not stopped calling her until she complained to the Network’s deputy managing director.
In 2023, light music singer Bhuvana Seshan spoke on record to TNM about her traumatising experience with Vairamuthu. Bhuvana had said that the incidents had occurred in 1998 when she was singing a jingle for a textile showroom. Vairamuthu, who had written the lyrics, allegedly told her at the time that she had a great voice and good Tamil diction and that singers like her should succeed in the industry. He allegedly went on to ask for a demo CD of her singing so that he could pass it on to Rahman.
Her situation only worsened, Bhuvana told TNM, after Vairamuthu kept pressuring her to accompany him to Malaysia for an award ceremony. When she asked him if he wanted her to accompany him as a singer or an anchor (since she’d also worked as a newsreader), He allegedly replied, “Neither. I want you to come with me.” When she refused, Vairamuthu said, “I have the power to make you a star overnight. I also have the power to never let you become a star,” she further alleged. She also said that over several days, Vairamuthu had told her, “I can make you or break you.”
Bhuvana went on to add in her interview to TNM at the time, “I knew that he had that power. But the way in which I become a star should be only my decision. Some of the small gigs I had lined up started getting cancelled one by one. I understood the pattern, so I decided not to pursue playback singing. Yes, it was crushing. It was a huge part of my dream. It was a choice that I made and I still stand by it. I do not want this to happen to anybody else.”
On September 14, Vairamuthu also said in his press meet that for the “exploitation and sexual harassment of women to end, you must put a stop to the idea of femininity. It is the ideas of ‘masculinity’ for men and ‘femininity’ for women that is causing all the [gender] differences in India. A man is equal. A woman is equal. When any one is harassed, it is to show that a certain gender is weaker. Women are not a weak gender. I ask the Indian education system to include self-defense for girls in the school curriculum. Girls don’t need training just in sports or writing. Girls need the strength to protect themselves. They need to be given the training for that. I see the Hema Committee as the beginning of a new India.”
