Maala Parvathi, a popular actor-activist from the Malayalam film industry who has actively spoken up on issues related to women’s safety and social concerns, also has horrific stories of encounters with “sexual predators” that send chills down one’s spine.
She opened up about a couple of distressing encounters she faced while shooting for Malayalam films, which leave her angry and dismayed every time she thinks about them. She spoke with News18 about her experiences at a time when the southern film industry is witnessing a series of exposés where women are sharing their stories of being sexually exploited and mentally harassed, leading even to a lack of work at times.
Parvathi was shooting for a movie in 2010 called Apoorvaragam, in which she played the role of the mother of the lead female actor, Nithya Menen. Her co-star who originally came from the Tamil film industry, played the role of her husband.
“There was a scene in the movie where Nancy (Nithya Menen), who was my daughter in the film, was playfully running around me and tugging at my saree. The man who played my husband’s role was supposed to playfully touch Nancy. During the shot, he reached out with his right hand to touch Nancy, but with his left hand he groped me hard,” she recalled the incident, still reeling with anger over that malicious act.
In that instant, she felt searing pain but was too stunned to react. The director, Sibi Malayil, later asked for a retake of the shot without the use of the male actor’s hands as part of the scene.
“That man knew what he had done. I felt a throbbing pain. The next day, we had a more detailed scene, but I was seething and mentally so upset that all I could do was stare him down each time he faced me to deliver his dialogues,” she told News18.
The cold, unpleasant exchange of stares led the male actor to take 16 takes for the scene. After the 16th take, Parvathi said that the co-star had the audacity to ask her whether there was something she was doing that was forcing them to take so many retakes.
“I kept staring at him without blinking. He would look at me and then mess up his lines. The whole movie was torture for me as we had several scenes where, as a couple, we had to have physical contact like a hug or sitting next to each other. It was so traumatic,” she said. She believes her performance was not up to the mark in the film as she felt uncomfortable and upset at the sight of the man who thought taking advantage of a woman was his prerogative.
The incident impacted Maala Parvathi so much that, for the next six months, she refused to work in films. It was her husband, Satheesh, who encouraged her to get back on her feet, saying that one should not back down. He advised her that just because “he did not know how to behave appropriately, one should not confine oneself to the house. You can only win a battle when you fight it.”
Having found roles in films later where the working atmosphere was professional, she slowly began to gain a foothold again.
Then came the film Happy Sardar in 2019. With no effort being made for women actors to have a safe space for their daily needs or rest between shots, Parvathi decided to rent a caravan for herself in this film.
“I paid Rs 22,500 from my own pocket and rented the caravan. I was questioned by some seniors on the set as to how I thought I was eligible for a caravan. I confronted them, saying I was paying for it from my pocket and they should not interfere.” Her other female co-stars would also use the caravan to rest, but the story does not end here.
One day, at around 10.30 pm, while she was shooting for the film, she got a call from a young co-star, saying they had felt the caravan moving and rolling away. They said they heard men laughing loudly and drinking just outside the caravan. They wanted her to come immediately and tackle the situation.
“I completed my shot and rushed towards the location of the caravan to see it was not there. Since it had rained, I traced the tracks to find it parked maybe 800 metres away in a secluded, dark area under a tree. There were a couple of bouncers at the scene, who fled on seeing me,” she recalled.
Parvathi took the girls away and brought them back towards the set. The next day, when she complained about this horrific incident to a senior Malayalam actor, he allegedly retorted, “Are you their mother hen that you have taken the responsibility of protecting them? Have you come here for activism or to act in films?” Parvathi said that she walked away in disgust, feeling that it is such people who make the industry and their workplace unsafe.
The Malayalam actor said that she once again raised her voice against a man on the film set who would sit on a chair and leer at all the women, making them feel uncomfortable. She spoke to the unit in-charge and asked for the man to be removed from the set, only to find that, from then on, she was denied water and food on the set by the crew.
“These two incidents that took place in 2019 during the shoot of Happy Sardar changed the way films came by. For a person who would act in 20 films per year, I started getting offers for four or five. Then the Covid lockdown happened, but even today, I face the impact of raising my voice for justice,” she told News18.
Disclaimer: As per legal and ethical guidelines, we generally refrain from naming victims in cases of sexual harassment or assault. The inclusion of the name in this article is based on the fact that the individual has publicly identified themselves in connection with the case. We respect the privacy and dignity of all individuals involved and urge readers to approach the matter sensitively.
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