Chinmayi on Tamil cinema introspecting in the wake of Hema Committee Report: ‘Nothing will happen… how long can I fight?’

Chinmayi Sripaada called out Vairamuthu

The popular singer was at forefront of the Me Too movement in South India after calling out National Award-winning lyricist Vairamuthu for sexual harassment. She later revealed how her membership from the Dubbing Union was terminated without any intimation and how work opportunities dried up in its aftermath.

‘I was questioned about inviting him to my wedding’

In the West, when Harvey Weinstein was outed as a serial sex offender, they billed it as the Weinstein Scandal. It wasn’t named after the women who called him out. However, that is not necessarily the case in many of the stories that make the news in our country. Even in Chinmayi’s case, she is the one hounded by everyone. She is banned by the Dubbing Union citing ‘non-payment of dues’ as a reason, and it is called “Chinmayi scandal” and not the Vairamuthu scandal. What is so scandalous about a woman calling out the person who molested her? “In such cases, where it is often a ‘he said, she said’ kind of a narrative, it is not easy to get solid proof or evidence. That is where corroboration becomes the biggest weapon in our arsenal,” points out Chinmayi, but, in her case, even this corroboration didn’t help much. “Whenever possible, I tried to not engage with him after the incident. I remember hosting an event, and telling Karthik I didn’t want to call Vairamuthu on stage. It is just sad that I can’t bring him as evidence of my discomfort because of what he did.” (Singer Karthik too was called out by many survivors during the MeToo movement). 

Nevertheless, Chinmayi shares that there were multiple people she confided in about her experience with lyricist Vairamuthu. But again, she is often questioned about the times she did attend functions presided over by him, and even inviting him for her wedding. “Do you think I had the power to say ‘no’ then? Here was someone whose presence continues to be heralded by the ruling government, and the biggest stars of Tamil like Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. Why did I call him to the wedding? His son harangued me to do so. Why did I fall on his feet? My mother asked me to. I wasn’t going to make him ruin my big day, right? Also, I thought this was something I’ll have to deal with for the rest of my life. There was no Me Too movement then, right? Who’d have believed me then? How many believe me now?” 

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She added, “Vairamuthu was constantly forcing me to attend book launches, political functions, etc… and making me sing in them. You know what made him stop? I told him that my mother and I would immolate ourselves in front of Kalaignar Karunanidhi’s house. That’s when the coercion subsided,” said Chinmayi, breaking into a laugh that masked the incredulity of her situation. “I don’t know why I’m laughing… probably I just feel saturated.” 

‘I wish I was born in Kerala instead of Tamil Nadu’

While the movement did give her the strength to tell her story to the world, Chinmayi also points out that the one thing she had that many other survivors, unfortunately, don’t, is a solid support system. “After my marriage with Rahul (Ravindran), I suddenly felt I had someone to ask questions for me, someone who would stand by me. I didn’t feel as vulnerable as the daughter of a divorcee felt earlier. And when the Me Too movement hit India, I felt I had to tell my story too,” said the singer, who circles back to the primary reason a Hema Committee report-type investigation happening in Tamil cinema will just be a pipe dream. “For Hema Committee to happen, it took many Malayali women to get together and support each other. Who are our top senior actresses? Most of them have gone back to their state and are supporting the women in Kerala. There are only a handful of Tamil-native actors in Tamil cinema, and they are either associated with political parties, or they don’t want to get involved at all. And the ones from the earlier generations like Sowcar Janaki and Venniradai Nirmala are shaming the survivors. All of them parrot the same old story, ‘Nothing like this happens in Tamil cinema. The industry is very good.’ Now, who do I turn to? Every one I looked up to has disappointed me. Remember Ajith taking on the powers by explaining he was arm-twisted to attend a political meet? He had to face backlash for a long time, right? But he could afford to pay the price. Now, Vijay is coming up with a political party. I hope he does the right thing. Unless I get disappointed, I can hope, right? But yeah, in a very nice way, I wish I was born in Kerala instead of Tamil Nadu. Someone would have stood by me, right?” asks Chinmayi, again with a stinging laugh. 

‘Need for women in positions of power’

This is something we are seeing happen in Malayalam cinema too. Even as the pillars of AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes) are crumbling one after the other under the weight of the allegations levelled against some of its most prominent members, it is the unwavering support from sections of the women that is allowing Malayalam cinema to tackle this.

Pointing out the need for women solidarity, Chinmayi goes back to the Sri Reddy incident that shook the Telugu industry in 2018. The actor alleged rampant sexual exploitation of actors in Telugu cinema, and wanted swift action to be taken against the perpetrators. “Of course, there is overwhelming patriarchy in our industries, but I could see the changes that could happen if women hold positions of power. Sri Reddy was quite revolutionary in her approach, for sure. What happened to her after that is a different thing altogether, but the way she put forth her problem was so effective that women like Nandini Reddy, Supriya Yarlagadda, Swapna and Priyanka Dutt came forward to facilitate changes. When I went to Annapurna studios after naming Vairamuthu, I saw a huge board there that mentioned there was ‘Zero Tolerance for Sexual Harassment’, and phone numbers were given for contacting if anything untoward happens. The board was put up because there was a woman, with her heart in the right place, in power. They were willing to do a lot of work. The MAA actively asked women to come up and share their stories. There were a couple of people who came up, but yeah, they backtracked later for reasons best known to them.” 

‘You have to fight the battle alone’

Now, here is another reason why many such allegations never turn into concrete complaints in police stations, and subsequently cases in court. The time it takes from raising a complaint to seeing tangible action taken against the accused can be excruciatingly slow. “There were narratives of child abuse by powerful people in the field of television. When I asked the parents of some of these children to take these people to court, they simply refused. The lived reality is different, right? I don’t have answers to their questions. All this solidarity will happen on media, but in the courts, you will have to fight the battles alone. You have to dress a certain way, comb your hair a certain way, walk and sit a certain way, and then, the opposition lawyer will assassinate your character in front of random people. You have to remain there with a straight face and not show any emotion. On social media, some might hail your strength, and some just call you a slut. But going through these court proceedings can get even more gutting. There are days when I think to myself why am I still alive,” says Chinmayi, who points out that she was blessed to have advocates fighting her case pro bono but it isn’t a luxury everyone would get. “Does everyone have deep pockets? How long can you fight against someone who not only has deep pockets, but also moves in high circles? Many perpetrators roam around freely because it is tough to go through this system. Even in my ongoing case with the Dubbing Union, I have seen five judges change, and my case is still going on despite one of them saying what happened to me is actually denying my “Right to Work” as prescribed by the Constitution of India. And yet, here I am… still out of work.”  

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Without losing the smile on her face, Chinmayi goes on to talk about how it is completely shocking that someone who named her molester is facing an actual ‘legal’ ban. Of course, even members of the WCC alleged shadow banning by the bigwigs of Malayalam cinema, but here was a proper diktat in place to deny Chinmayi’s voice-acting opportunities. Despite this, she was roped in to dub for Kalyani Priyadarshan and Trisha in PS Mithran’s Hero and Lokesh Kangaraj’s Leo, respectively. “These unions were started to safeguard the interests of its members. But now they have been cartelised to be big-time bullies. I’ve just dubbed for two Tamil films in six years, and even Mithran got harangued by the old guard of Tamil cinema, who take pride in ‘slapping’ and physically abusing their actors to ‘get’ the performances. These are the stalwarts who own their abusive nature as badges of honour. And do you think senior actors who tolerated all this, and even narrate it with a smile on their faces, will come in support of people like me?” asks Chinmayi, who reiterates that 20+ years of experience doesn’t amount to anything in her life because she is someone without a lot of agency in today’s world. “I can’t guarantee who my co-singer would be. I am not told if a film I’m dubbing for has a Me Too accused in the cast. I understand that a lot of this is becoming hazy right now. Most people are losing track of who did what.”

‘We want our survivors to be perfect’

But in the digital era where you are heralded and crucified by your last post, your last ‘like’ and your last stance, nuances often take a beating. It is easier said than done to make netizens understand that brain-fades are normal. It is not easy to be abreast of every single thing that is happening out there in the world. We often burden the survivors to react to things out of their control. In fact, we want our survivors to be ‘perfect’ and many of us seemingly find it impossible to express solidarity with a flawed survivor. It is ironic that we hold our survivors to higher standards than the perpetrators. “There are people expecting us to ‘educate’ the perpetrators because they didn’t know better. Now, when they are ready to listen, many don’t want to sit them down and teach them basic things like consent, etc… But somehow, it is the survivors, who invariably, do this labour too. I repeat, I don’t want to bring my grievances to social media. There are so many unions, right? Use those spaces to platform our voices. Also, it is important that we overcome the linguistic barrier when it comes to reporting such cases. Many a time, if it is not said in English, it doesn’t have the ‘reach.’ That shouldn’t be the case, right? That is where native safe spaces can come in handy. That is why structural changes are needed.”

‘Incorporate ICC, form a POSH committee…’

Then, there is the question of false cases. What if a survivor isn’t a survivor? Then, doesn’t the alleged perpetrator become the survivor? And there is also the question of what should the accused do till the court proceedings are over? Should they be left without opportunities to ply their trade till their name is cleared or convicted? “Let these questions be asked. Shouldn’t they work? Of course, it is a fair question. Are fake cases possible? Again, a fair question. That is why I am saying put the systems and safeguards in place. Make the action swift. It is necessary for these conversations to happen. Don’t blindly believe the survivor. Call the people involved, and do the required investigation. Give me a safe space where people understand the nuances in many of these cases. People who understand what is inappropriate or not, and understand power dynamics. I stand for justice. Sexual abuse is gender agnostic. So, I understand there can be no one-size-fits-all kind of justice for such cases. Incorporate ICC, form a POSH committee, educate everyone on the presence of such safeguards, and instill belief in the people that they can come to these spaces to alleviate their fears. The Me Too movement did result in many of our films having intimacy coordinators on set, right? Let even such safe spaces come out as a result of all these relentless fights by survivors.” 

But how long can a person fight against the system? It is often said that justice delayed is justice denied, but it is also said that innocent until proven guilty. And many truths are forcefully buried in the same dichotomy where lies happily hide. “How much longer will I do this? As a survivor, all I want to happen is that people go through the various oscillations in their minds about right and wrong and eventually come up with an equitable and just decision. Justice should be based on truth and equity. But how do I amplify a message from someone I don’t know at all? I receive so many messages from unknown people who want their stories to be told, but they aren’t willing to come out in the open because they have their families, husband, and kids to think of. It is sad, but I too can’t continue to be their mouthpiece when I don’t have their explicit support either. There is only so much I can do on my own. But I too have a husband and kids. I can’t be left out hanging out to dry every single time, right?”

It isn’t easy being Chinmayi… but it shouldn’t have to be this difficult.