Malayalam actress’ letter to Kerala CM: After assault, should I have committed suicide?

Malayalam actress, in a stinging open letter to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, requested him to take action against MLA PC George for questioning the credibility of the attack on her.

Malayalam actress who was abducted and assaulted in her car in February this year, allegedly at the behest of superstar Dileep, has written an emotional write-up on Facebook page of Women in Cinema Collective in reply to statements made by Kerala MLA PC George.

In February this year, the Malayalam actress was abducted and then sexually assaulted by her former driver named P Suni, allegedly at the behest of superstar Dileep.(Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

MLA PC George, known for his controversial comments, has stroked a fresh controversy this time by attempting to defame the Malayalam actress. At a press meet recently George tried to question the credibility of the attack against the survivor.

He said the police told the court that the attack was more “grievous than the Nirbhaya incident”. He then asked, “If then, how can she resume shooting for her films the next day?”, The Indian Express was quoted as saying.

Stung by the statement, the actress wrote an emotionally charged open letter and addressed it to the chief minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan requesting him to take action against George. In her letter she wrote: “I cannot explain the mental state I have been in for the last many months after the assault. I feel pressured by insults each moment. A common family like mine, which includes my mother and brother, could not tolerate what happened to me. But I survive out of the thought that I should not break down and should fight it out till the end.”

Malayalam actor Dileep was arrested in July in connection of the sensational Malayalam actress abduction case. (PTI)

The actress displayed grit and determination to take the fight to the end. Rubbishing George’s claim that she returned to the film sets the “very next day”, she said she sat in a room for a week. It was only 10 days later that she managed to return to the industry and lead a normal life, thanks to the support and encouragement she received from her colleagues.

“What do people like PC George think? Should I have committed suicide? Or should I have been dumped in a mental asylum? Or should I hide somewhere by not appearing in public?” she demanded.

In her letter she brought to notice that there were far too many women who face similar situations but don’t report it for fear of ill-treatment by men like George, she said. “The last time, he said in his statement: ‘Are they (Women’s Commission) coming to cut my nose? If they fight against me they will lose not only their nose but also something else’. He says this against an institution, which is a hope for thousands of women like me, who seek justice,” she pointed out.

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