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Journalism of Courage
To those who know her, BJP leader Khushbu Sundar’s statement that she was abused as a child by her father is in character with the actor-turned-politician who is known for her forthrightness.
Speaking at an event of the online news portal Mojo Story, Khushbu said she had been sexually abused at the age of eight, and had endured the same in silence till she was 15. “When a child is abused, it scars them for life; it’s not about whether they are a boy or a girl. Not many people are able to come out of that,” Khushbu, who was recently appointed member of the National Commission for Women, said.
A strong advocate of women’s rights, Khushbu has earlier pushed for sex education in schools to help prevent STDs and unintended pregnancies, and made comments construed as validating premarital sex – positions most political leaders would duck.
Even as she has switched parties from the DMK to the Congress to the BJP over the 13 years of her political career, her views on such issues have not varied.
Born to a Muslim family in Mumbai, Khushbu, 52, started out as a child actor in the 1980s. But it was in South Indian cinema that she found stardom, appearing in several blockbusters. In many of her films, she played strong-willed, independent women who fought against patriarchal oppression and society’s standards. She also frequently fought off charges of “obscenity” from conservatives and right-wing groups, particularly in her early films.
Such was her popularity that fans in Tamil Nadu built a temple for her. An actress who used to be a close friend said, “Her admirers were always fiercely loyal.” Ironically, this was despite Khushbu identifying herself openly as a “non-believer”.
Even before her political entry, the actor found herself in controversy over her opinions. In 2005, in an interview in Tamil, she said: “Our society should come out of the thinking that at the time of marriage, a girl should be a virgin.”
As many as 24 cases were filed against her following her remarks, and she was forced to go underground. Khushbu fought for five years, until the Supreme Court cleared her in early 2010.
The same year, she joined the DMK, with the late founder and party doyen M Karunanidhi welcoming her into the party as a person known for her “progressive views”.
For the DMK, Khushbu was a perfect fit for having also famously played Maniyammai, the wife of its social reformer and idol Periyar, in a biographical film based on his life.
In 2014, however, Khushbu moved to the Congress after she felt marginalised in the DMK. She was the DMK-Congress alliance’s top campaigner in Tamil Nadu in both the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and the May 2016 Assembly polls. Even top DMK leaders praised her for the effective campaign she ran for Congress candidates in southern Tamil Nadu at the time.
Khushbu’s move to the BJP, in contrast, was surprising. She had often taken on BJP and RSS leaders online before that. Once she posted on Twitter that while her name was Khushbu Sundar for others, it was “NAKHAT KHAN for the BJP”. At the time right-wing handlers were attacking her underlining her original name and identity. Khushbu had adopted her new name on joining the film industry, and is married to a Tamil Nadu film producer, C Sundar. At the time, Khushbu questioned the BJP for “identifying people based on their religion”.
For the BJP, which does not have a big presence in Tamil Nadu or many prominent leaders, Khushbu is a valuable addition due to her command of the language, including English, her oratory skills, and her reputation as a leader with strong views.
According to a well-known South Indian actor and a friend of Khushbu, her legacy is one of “resiliency, determination, dedication and consistency”. “She is someone who desires to continue working, not a person who would retire to the comforts she has earned. She would rather embrace difficulties to remain active and agile,” the actor said, adding that now that she is a politician, Khushbu lives the life of one.
