NHRC issues notice over casting couch in Tollywood

Actor Sri Reddy’s allegations about the sexual exploitation of female artists in Telugu film industry and the notice of National Human Rights Commission on the issue has created a major stir in the film industry in Hyderabad and forced many in Tollywood to look inwards and respond to her protest.

Days after Sri Reddy created a sensation by staging semi nude sit in outside the office of Movie Artists Association alleging the presence of Casting Couch in the industry, the NHRC issued notice to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and the State Government of Telangana on the issue of sexual harassment in the industry.

In the first major fall out of the development Movie Artists Association, a powerful trade body, hastily withdrew the ban it had imposed on Sri Reddy. After her protest last week, MAA had announced that none of its members will work with Sri Reddy, who had worked as a TV anchor before entering Telugu film industry as a struggling actress.

MAA President Sivaji Raja announced that the doors of MAA were being opened for the actress. “Some elders in the association have suggested that her application for the membership should be considered to resolve the issue”, Sivaji said.

“Sri Reddy is welcome into the film industry and all the artists will cooperate and act with her”, he said. The development came on a day when some photos of Sri Reddy with the son of a top Telugu film producer and brother of another leading actor went viral on the social media.

Sri Reddy while staging protest outside MAA office had alleged that there was systematic sexual exploitation of aspiring young actresses in the Telugu film industry.

The allegations has evoked mixed reaction from the industry. Leading director of Tollywood and Bollywood Ram Gopal Varma lauded Sri Reddy from coming into open and fighting back against the prevalent sexual exploitation.

“Casting Couch exists since the film industry came into being hundred years ago”, he said. “But the issue which nobody open raised during last hundred years was now being raised by Sri Reddy. For That I salute her”, he said.

“To historically compare the victory of Sri Reddy… Jhansi Lakshmi Bai used her sword as a weapon to fight for her kingdom and Sri Reddy used her own body as a weapon to fight Maledom in the film industry”, he posted on his Facebook page while referring to her act of stripping in public while staging a protest outside MAA office.

Madhavi Lata, another actress also announced her plans to launch a “Satygraha” against castin couch and appealed to the other women in the industry to come forward to fight. “I was first to raise the issue”, recalled Madhavi who appeared in several Telugu films.

Meanwhile a leading producer and former president of Film Chambers Thammareddy Bharadwaja said that after the episode of Sri Reddy there was a need for immediately setting up a redressal mechanism in the Telugu film industry to deal with the issue of sexual harassment. He recalled that a committee headed by actress Jayasudha existed from 2003 till 2006 as initially there were a lot of complaints. ‘But after the cell was started not many came forward to lodge the complaints and it was discontinued”.

“IN the future if any budding actress faces such instances they should say no and should immediately leave the place and lodge a complaint against the person. I think henceforth nobody will dare to do this because we will be taking strict measures against women harassment in the industry”, he said.