Former actor Vichitra, who has acted in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada movies, recently said on Bigg Boss Tamil 7 that a casting couch experience made her quit acting two decades ago. She said that despite filing a complaint with the union, no action was taken against the perpetrators. While she mentioned that it was not on the sets of a Tamil film, a section of social media users believe that she was talking about the 2001 Balakrishna-starrer Bhalevadivi Basu. (Also Read: Mansoor Ali Khan booked by Chennai police for alleged derogatory remarks against Trisha; actor refuses to apologise)
‘I had never faced this in Tamil cinema’
The actor said that the reason she quit working in movies was because in 2000, a lead actor and the men on the film’s team had misbehaved with her. “There was a party, where I met a very famous hero. He didn’t even ask my name, and asked me to come to his room. I was shocked because I didn’t understand what kind of gesture that was. I went back to my room and slept, but I began facing issues during the shoot. I’ve never faced such issues in Tamil cinema,” she said.
‘They touched me inappropriately on sets’
Vichitra claimed that they were shooting outdoors one day in a dense area where a commotion takes place. “I felt someone touching me inappropriately and at first I thought it was a mistake,” she said, adding, “When I caught the guy and took him to the stunt master, he slapped me in front of the entire unit. It left me with bruises. I couldn’t tell my parents, so I told my friend who encouraged me to complain to the union.”
‘They would bang on my doors at night’
Vichitra claims that the situation got so worse during the outdoor shoot that men from the unit would get drunk and bang on the doors at night. “My husband was the manager of the 3-star hotel we were staying at. Him and his team did their best to keep me safe and would change my rooms every day. I still remember the banging noise and how scared I felt back then. My husband wasn’t even my friend then, he did it out of kindness,” she said.
‘The union asked why I didn’t approach the police’
Once back home, Vichitra says she complained about the incidents to the union, who asked her why she didn’t approach the police. “The incident was talked about in newspapers back then,” she claims, adding, “It was an ugly procedure and I met lawyers. No one came to the court hearings and my wounds had healed by then. The head of the union asked me to forget everything and get back to work. I thought my career was over but my husband questioned why I even wanted to work in an industry that didn’t respect me. He was the only one who stood by me through the court ordeal.”
Netizens believe it’s a Telugu film
While Vichitra did not reveal the language of the film she was shooting for, many believe she’s talking about Balakrishna’s Telugu film Bhalevadivi Basu, based on her description of the scenes. Some even unearthed clips of the scene they believe she was talking about.
