Chennai, Aug 31: In more trouble for the beleaguered Malayalam film industry, popular South Indian actress and BJP leader Raadhika Sarathkumar has alleged that hidden cameras were placed in caravans on movie sets to film actresses changing clothes. The actress, who is the wife of South Indian star Sarathkumar, while speaking to a private television channel, revealed that she had retorted when she found that hidden cameras were placed in caravans in which women actors change clothes.
"After I got to know that cameras were placed in caravans to record women actresses, I did not use the facility, and when I needed to change, I returned to the hotel room," said Radhika. "I have been told by various women personalities working in the Malayalam film industry how people come and knock at their hotel rooms and some have sought my help also," said Radhika.
The actor, who contested the Virudhanagar Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 general elections as a BJP candidate, said such scenes of actresses were saved in separate folders in the mobile phones of the men who had set up these hidden cameras. She said that videos were saved in folders by the name of the actress concerned and later viewed by men on shooting sets. The Malayalam film industry is in the dock following revelations by women actors of having been sexually assaulted and abused by certain popular actors and directors.
After the Justice Hema committee report constituted by the Kerala government was out, several women actors made shocking revelations. FIRs have been registered against popular Malayalam actors Mukesh who is also the CPI(M) legislator from Kollam, Siddik, Jayasuriya, Sudheesh, Edavela Babu and Maniyanpilla Raju. FIRs have been registered against Malayalam directors, Ranjith and V. K. Prakash.
Meanwhile, Tamil superstar and South Indian Artists Association (SIAA) general secretary Vishal has called upon women artistes to come out if they had any bad experiences in the Tamil film industry. Tamil actor and national award winner Kutti Padmini alleged that she was sexually abused when she was only ten years of age in the Tamil film industry. She had said that when her mother had questioned this, they were chucked out of the film set.
