Malayalam actor Sowmya accuses Tamil director of rape, says she was 'groomed as sex slave'

Sowmya

The Hema Committee Report has encouraged several artists from the film industry to come forward and open up about the sexual assault they faced in the industry and name their perpetrators and initiate legal action. While so far the allegations and cases have been found within the state of Kerala, an actress has now shared her unpleasant experience with a Tamil film director. Popular Malayalam film actress Sowmya has narrated an incident from her college days when she was raped by the director for a year. Recalling the traumatic period, she also said that the director inserted a rod in her genitals for 'entertainment'.

In an interview with NDTV, Sowmya spoke about how she was groomed as a sex slave by a married Tamil director. She however, refused to disclose the identity of her perpetrator at this time. She said she would reveal the man's identity to the special police team formed by the Kerala government, which is investigating multiple cases of alleged sexual assault in Mollywood.

"I was 18 and in my first year of college... I came from a very sheltered background and my parents knew nothing about movies. This opportunity (to act in a Tamil film) came through my college theatre contact. As a child I was enamoured by the actor Revathy, who lived near my house at that time...I was in a fantasy world. So I went for a screen test with this couple..."

Sowmya said she had voiced her discomfort on being around the man after their first meeting She revealed that the director told her father they had spent large amounts of money on her screen test and arm-twisted her family into allowing her to act.

Sowmya said that she felt obligated to act in that movie.

"During the first outdoor shoots he didn't speak to me. The agreement was that his wife would be the director but that was on paper... in reality he was directing the whole movie."

"And so I was under his control... and he gave me the 'angry silent treatment' like a lot of men are used to doing. And because of our conditioning in patriarchy... about authority figures, particularly intimidating men who express anger very easily, I was very scared," she said.

Sowmya reveals director's daughter had accused him of rape

Sowmya also shared that the director would claim her to be his daughter when his own daughter had left, accusing him of rape.

"But they told me she (the daughter) was lying. So they brought me into their home... I was a teenager who was rebellious at home and suddenly this couple was nice to me, bribing me with good food and milkshakes, and telling me good things. That was the grooming process... he knew fully well what he was doing," she said firmly.

Sowmya recalls sexual assault

Sowmya then recalled the sexual assault and rape that happen done fine day.

"One fine day, when his wife wasn't around, this man, while calling me his daughter, kissed me. I completely froze. I was so desperate to tell my friends but couldn't... I was ashamed, thinking I had done something wrong and that I was obligated to be nice to this man..."

"So I continued going for practice, for dance rehearsals... every day I went back and gradually, step by step, this man completely used my body to his advantage. At some point he forced himself on me... so he raped me. This went on for close to a year while I was in college."

Sowmya further said that the man messed with her brain as he would call her his daughter and also wanted a child with her.

Sexual assault continued in Malayalam film industry

In the 90s, Sowmya did three films which were all hits. However, the sexual abuse continued in the Malayalam film industry. "A co-star who sexually abused me has now been named in the Hema Committee report" she said adding that "directors, actors, and technicians" continued to abused here.

"It took 30 years for me to heal and recover from this sense of 'shame'... I encourage survivors to report all such abuse," she said.