HYDERABAD: After several junior and supporting artistes from the Telugu Film Industry (TFI), came out in the open and started talking about the existing casting couch and sexual harassment in work place, they have reportedly been receiving threats from various people. As this has been going on for at least three months now, these artistes along with women’s rights organisations met with the chairperson of Telangana State Women’s Commission.
Chairperson Tripurana Venkataratnam promised to act as a liaison between them and the State Government in resolving their issues. “Death and rape threats have become normal these days. They label us and have been intimidating us, forcing us to leave the industry,” shared Sri Reddy, the anchor turned actress who initiated the protest. Those threatening call themselves fans of popular actors.
The artistes sought the intervention of the Commission to help in breaking the atmosphere of intimidation and fear, especially by women and transpersons. The artistes in their representation stated middlemen and coordinators in the industry are intimidating them. “This has been happening, when the artistes only highlighted the lack of basic facilities in workplace, extreme sexual and economic exploitation,” said Sanghamitra, a human rights activist.