Lakshmy Ramakrishnan recalls facing inappropriate behaviour from two senior Malayalam directors: ‘I was removed from one movie’

While her refusal to accept mistreatment in one case led to her being dropped from the film, in another instance, Lakshmy Ramakrishnan stood her ground and demanded an apology from the director.

By: Entertainment Desk

Kochi | September 9, 2024 02:53 PM IST

2 min read

While her refusal to accept mistreatment in one case led to her being dropped from the film, in another instance, Lakshmy Ramakrishnan stood her ground and demanded an apology from the director.

Lakshmy Ramakrishnan also criticised actor Jiiva for claiming recently that incidents of sexual harassment only occur in the Malayalam film industry. (Image: Lakshmy/Facebook)

Days after speaking out against the Malayalam film industry and its deplorable treatment of women, while recounting a personal experience where she was forced to retake a simple scene 19 times for not yielding to the director’s interests, renowned Tamil actor-director Lakshmy Ramakrishnan recently shared two occasions when she confronted inappropriate behaviour by senior directors in Malayalam cinema. While her refusal to accept mistreatment in one case led to her being dropped from the film, in another instance, she stood her ground, demanded an apology from the director, and had the support of the entire crew.

“I had a very horrible experience with a senior director who kept torturing me on the film set and I was eventually removed from the movie. In another instance, a very senior director’s behaviour towards me was completely inappropriate. I reprimanded him on the spot and demanded an apology, and the entire crew stood by me,” she recalled during a chat with Onmanorama.

ICYMI | Tamannaah Bhatia opens up about most important learnings from her two major heartbreaks: ‘I realised the second person won’t be a good influence in my life’

Meanwhile, Lakshmy Ramakrishnan also criticised actor Jiiva for claiming recently that incidents of sexual harassment only occur in the Malayalam film industry and that Tamil cinema is free of such issues. “How can they certify that sexual harassment does not occur in their industry? Have they spoken to women?” she questioned.

Commending the Malayalam film industry for its bravery in addressing these issues, referencing the Justice Hema Committee report, she also praised the efforts of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) in promoting a safer working environment. While acknowledging the considerable progress made by the Malayalam film industry, Lakshmy, nevertheless, stressed that there is still much work to be done. She also expressed doubts about similar advancements in Tamil cinema, predicting that it may take another 20 years to achieve meaningful change, given the deeply entrenched patriarchal norms.

From the homepage