Telugu actress Sri Reddy, who has been in the news for making accusations of sexual misconduct against Telugu and Tamil actors and directors, has now threatened to kill herself if she is not given justice.
In an interview with Manorama News, the actress said that it hurts her when people call her a prostitute and that she has been feeling helpless and have been contemplating suicide. She also said that she is the only woman who has raised voice against the practice of casting couch in the film industry. “When a Malayalam actress was attacked, the entire industry was with her. But here I am all alone. I don’t even have parents behind me,” Sri Reddy added.
Sri Reddy has accused actors Nani, Raghava Lawrence, Sundeep Kishan and Srikanth, and directors AR Murugadoss and Sundar C. The charges have been denied by all, with Nani even initiating legal action against her. On the prostitution allegations, she told Silverscreen earlier, “How can you call it prostitution? It involves payment and I was never paid.”
The actress further said that she has been in touch with Nadigar Sangam and has sought meetings with Vishal and Nassar. “But nobody has talked to me yet,” she said. Recently, the treasurer of the association, Karthi advised the actress to seek legal action if she have any evidence.
Veteran producer Kutty Padmini in an interview with a news channel stated that she is willing to give Sri Reddy a chance to act in serials and web-series under her production. She also said that she has been aware of the casting couch system in Tamil cinema since 1983 and not much was spoken about it as there were very few media houses at the time. The producer also said that Sri Reddy should have drawn a line when one person cheated on her.
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In another interview, actor Mayilsamy said, “I have toured all over the world. This issue is not just in the Tamil film industry. It happens abroad also. It is just done discreetly, that’s it.”
He further added that there are many artistes who are very decent when sober, but “when these artists get drunk, they are the worst kind of people to be around.”
“Sri Reddy says that she was exploited time and again. But she has let herself be exploited time and again. There must have been some consent involved. How many more people will exploit her? It would have been good, if she’d complained when the first person asked her for sexual favours,” he added.