Parvathy responded to filmmaker Vidhu Vincent’s allegations against her in a note shared on social media (Photo: Instagram/parvathy).
Actor Parvathy has responded to the allegations levelled against the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) by filmmaker Vidhu Vincent. Her response comes a week after Vidhu made her discontent with certain members, including Parvathy, public.
“I thought a lot whether or not to respond to these allegations for two reasons. First, some of the issues raised by Vidhu were pertaining to WCC as an organisation, and that needed to be addressed first, as the cause of this Collective and movement are of priority to me. Second are the other issues raised by Vidhu that are against individual members of WCC. I am going to address the ones raised against me (sic),” wrote Parvathy, explaining the rationale behind her delayed response.
In a lengthy note shared on social media on Monday, Parvathy explained the sequence of events in the run up to Vidhu’s public outbursts that put WCC in a tight spot.
Parvathy noted that she was recommended to take a break from work as she was under a lot of stress over constant abusive online campaigns against her. After completing My Story and Koode in 2018 she sort of went incommunicado, steering clear of her work for some time. A few months later, during a meeting of WCC, Vidhu reminded Parvathy that she did not receive any response for her offer. To which Parvathy said, “When I was asked about this matter, I distinctly remember messaging Vidhu with profuse apologies explaining that I had been away and not known anything about her project. She clarified that she had tried to contact me on Whatsapp; I requested her to resend the message. She did and it was a single message with a short one-paragraph synopsis of the film dated May 30, 2018. I apologised again and asked her if she would still consider me for the role. She was keen so we agreed to meet on the sets of Uyare. As a professional practice, I discourage script narrations on sets but I suggested this only because I did not want to delay her in any manner (sic),” recalled the Take Off actor.
Parvathy was not convinced that Vidhu’s story of Stand Up was the right choice for her. She noted that she turned down the movie soon after hearing the first narration. However, on Vindhu’s insistence, she agreed to think over it and get back to her in 10 days.
“As agreed, in the next few days I made a phone call and informed her that I would not be able to do the project. She shared that she understood my decision and updated me on the developments on the project when I enquired. As we hung up, we wished each other well. From the sets of Uyare, I proceeded to the shoot of Virus and then Varthamanam and the dubbing of Uyare until the end of March. During this intense work period, I was surprised when Vidhu sent me a screenplay draft by e-mail even though I had clearly said no to the project. Within 30-40 days, the poster of Stand Up released with Nimisha Sajayan’s photograph on it. I was thrilled to see that such a powerful performer was going to portray that role (sic),” Parvathy added.
Also read | WCC refutes allegations made by Vidhu Vincent
For the uninitiated, Vidhu has alleged that she felt humiliated after she did not even get a ‘no’ for an answer when she approached Parvathy for Stand Up.
Parvathy said that until Vidhu’s public outrage, she was under the assumption that she was on good terms with Vidhu.
Parvathy also noted that she continues to believe in the importance of an all-women organisation like the Collective. “WCC is one such political movement that is above and beyond any individual. I believe in its unrelenting, galvanizing and all-transcending power. I believe we are all here forging an extremely tough path ahead. My heart stays open and my mind, willing to learn and move forward together,” she added.