Khushboo is in the limelight yet again. While the acting skills of this Tamil actor seem to draw lesser interest, it is her views that are drawing needless attention of the self-appointed moralists and providing fodder for the local media in Tamil Nadu.
The actor, whose portrayal of Maniammai, second wife of the late Dravidar Kazhagam leader Periyar in a film with the same title, drew some good reviews, is now gearing up again for yet another controversy.
After drawing much flak for her views on premarital and safe sex, now it is her remarks on the judiciary that appear to have caused some heartburn.
This time, an advocate K Balu, belonging to the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) which had also spearheaded the 2005 agitation against her, had issued a legal notice to the actor for “criticising” the judiciary.
Besides a series of aggressive and violent demonstrations against her in November 2005, sympathisers of the Tamil Protection Movement, comprising the PMK and the Dalit Panthers of India (DPI), filed 24 defamation cases against Khushboo in various courts across the state, after she voiced her views on premarital sex and virginity.
At a recent seminar in the city on “Justice — A Privilege or a Right?” organised by the FICCI Ladies Organisation, Khushboo reportedly expressed her anguish over the plethora of defamation cases against her. Her remarks have provoked the Tamil Protection Movement again, with the advocate issuing a legal notice to her demanding an unconditional apology.
Balu in his notice said that Khushboo had criticised the warrant issued against her. He said that she had, while addressing the gathering, remarked that the courts warrants were issued “unnecessarily” and that justice had been “bought” in the defamation cases.
The lawyer pointed out that the court had subsequently cancelled the warrant against her on the condition that she should not speak about the matter pending before the court till the final disposal of the case. The advocate’s stand is that Khushboo’s remarks amounted to contempt of court.
The actor, however, told reporters that she was not going to apologise. “I did not apologise during the earlier controversy on my remarks on premarital sex and I am not going to do so even now,” she reportedly said, adding that neither she nor her lawyers had received a legal notice from Balu yet.
Meanwhile, the latest attempt by the PMK “to intimidate” the actor has drawn some protests from activist-lawyers, who have condemned the move “to harass women in public life in order to gain media mileage”.