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Malayalam actor Sowmya alleges director groomed her to be a ‘sex slave’: Report
Sowmya claimed that when she was 18, the filmmaker approached her and “arm-twisted her family” into letting her pursue acting.
Amid the wave of sexual assault allegations against many big players in the Malayalam film industry, actress Sowmya launched shocking allegations against a Tamil director, accusing him of horrific mental, physical and sexual assault. In an interview to NDTV, Sowmya alleged that the director was “grooming her to be his sex slave” when she was just 18 years old.
Sowmya told NDTV that the director, whose identity she chose to withhold in the interview, approached her with his wife and claimed her as his “daughter." She also said that the filmmaker expressed desire to father a child with her.
The actress said that when she was 18, the man approached her and arm-twisted her family into letting her pursue acting. He also referred to her as his “daughter”, while his own daughter had left the couple after accusing her father of rape.
Read more: National Commission for Women seeks release of full Hema Committee report
She outlined how she was “groomed” by the man throughout movie shoots and interactions. Sowmya revealed how the director and his wife exposed her to the glamourous life of an actor, “bribing” her with the lifestyle.
The Malayalam actress said that one day the director called her while his wife was not home. He kissed her while calling him his daughter, she alleged. Sowmya further said that after rehearsals she used to go back to his house, and one day raped her.
Read more: Amid #MeToo wave in Kerala, CM Pinarayi Vijayan justifies need for Hema Committee
She revealed that the sexual abuse continued for many days and one day he even inserted a rod into her genitals as a form of “entertainment.” Sowmya said that she will soon reveal the name of the director to the special team formed by the Kerala government, investigating sexual assault cases in the film industry.
"It took 30 years for me to heal and recover from this sense of 'shame'... I encourage survivors to report all such abuse," the actress told NDTV.
Sowmya said that in the 90s, after delivering multiple hit films, she was sexually abused by a co-star. "A co-star who sexually abused me has now been named in the Hema Committee report" she said, "directors, actors, and technicians abused me. There were also rights violations. One person spat pan on me."
