BENGALURU:‘ We should not tolerate such violations’
It is definitely shocking and, whenever such incidents are brought to light, there is a search for truth... justice should be done, definitely. It is too soon to come to a conclusion about anybody. The investigation has to be thorough and the police have to find enough proof, and all of this should be brought out to view. So much crime is happening around us and we should all be aware of it. We should not tolerate such violations.
— Priyanka Upendra
‘Harassment pervasive, it can happen to anyone’
The actress faced a very tragic and unfortunate situation. The incident got media attention and the Kerala police handled it intelligently and have taken serious action against the actor involved... it is a good sign. Here Priyanka Upendra, Kavitha Lankesh, Rekha Rani and Sudha Raini are building FIRE (Film Industry for Rights and Equality) which deals with women’s issues and all the struggles actors face, otherwise these issues are dismissed as not of the industry.
We believe that harrasment happens at various levels and invarying intensities, it can happen to anybody. Industry is mostly run by men... the actors, technicians, writers and the audience who line up to watch the first day first show are largely men. The industry caters to the male viewer and does not function to further an equal society. — Chetan
‘Can anyone hate another so much?’
It is very scary to think that a man, a co-star, could harbour such hatred towards a woman. How can someone hate another enough to hire people to molest a girl and click her pictures, which is what happened according to media reports... again that is only one side of the sotyr. We really don’t know the truth yet. Dileep has even said that there was an attempt at blackmail. I should not be making any assumptions at this point too. It won’t be right.
— Sruthi Hariharan
‘We are fighters, we will not give in’
I would never expect an industry insider to stoop so low. We are yet to learn all the facts of the matter, but whatever has been revealed so far has been shocking! I have experience working with various actors and actresses and there is always scope for misunderstanding, but it is always a healthy competition. The actress (survivor) is a dear friend of mine and we both admire each other because we both are fighters. I have never let a problem go just because it can be time-consuming. Even when I had trouble with a stalker, I made sure that justice was done. — Ragini Dwivedi