Actress and model Meera Vasudevan has slammed Malayalam chat show ‘JB Junction’ hosted by senior journalist and managing director of ‘Kairali TV’ John Brittas for allegedly misrepresenting her words and adding an intimate scene from one of her movies to make the episode sensational. In a Facebook post, the actress took on the powerful and controversial chat show host, who routinely asks probing personal questions and taunts his interviewees.
Notably, John Brittas is also the media advisor of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Meera Vasudevan, on Friday, condemned the show for including intimate scenes from her 2005 Malayalam hit – “Thanmathra,” which, she says, was not used during the shoot of the show. She further accused the show of wrongly interpreting her words, sending the wrong message to viewers.
“When I did the show I had very particularly mentioned that I have a small child back home who is watching and judging not only me but also judging my interviewer on the way the person is treating his mother. Anyway, a lot of my actual words have been misrepresented and clippings that I have not actually seen on the show like the intimate clipping from my most esteemed life-best film Thanmathra have been added separately to make it look sensational. A lot has been misappropriated and misrepresented in the messages and troll clippings put up on social media via the show JB Junction,” Meera wrote on Facebook.
The Mumbai-born actress further said that she decided to do the show as promised because she believes that is the right attitude a professional should posses. The Oruvan-fame actress added, “I stand strong and confident because I know that when someone misbehaves with us, it doesn’t show badly on us but it only shows their true character.”
Expressing confidence in the sense of the public in identifying truth, Meera wrote: “I am a professional and I am a confident, strong woman who believes that I have only amazingly supportive, intelligent and sensitive people watching what I say. When you promote something dirty about a woman, you must remember that you’re not just insinuating (something about) her but also insulting all the women especially your own mother, sisters and wife in the process.”
“JB Junction” is a fortnightly chat show aired every Saturday and Sunday, where John Brittas interviews one eminent guest, chosen from various fields, mostly from the entertainment industry, but also from the literary and political spheres. On the show, not only does Brittas interact with the guests, but he also gets other people also to ask questions through previously-recorded video clips.
Brittas has come under fire multiple times earlier for his show’s politically incorrect and probing nature that oversteps the bounds of privacy of an individual. He has also been criticised for seeking out salacious details.
In September 2016, Brittas was forced to come out with a clarification after being flayed for encouraging a poem that glorified rape on the show.
In another episode featuring veteran Malayalam actress Sheela, John Brittas denied her the choice of not responding to a question, and kept trying to inveigle a response. Distressed by the host pressing her for an answer, Sheela shot back: “Are you a priest that I must confess before?”
In another instance, the show tried to get actress Prayaga Martin to narrate a controversial incident from the set of the Dileep-starrer movie ‘Ramaleela’. The question, which was part of the pre-recorded segment of the show, was asked by the film’s director Arun Gopi. The actress began by answering that the director already knew the entire story (implying that he was being forced to ask it again before the camera, for effect).
‘Thanmaathra’, directed by Blessy, was one of the most applauded Mollywood productions of the year 2005 and had won the National Film Award for Best Feature film, along with many other honours including the Kerala State Award for the best film as well as for best actor-male.
Opposite Mohan Lal, Meera Vasudevan played the lead female role in the movie. Her portrayal of Lekha, a housewife and mother of two, was highly appreciated.
Responding to a bedroom scene in the movie, Meera in an earlier interview with a magazine had said that sex was a part of married life and its depiction in the movie was shot in a professional manner with just the director, cameraman, associate cameraman and the stylists of both the actors in the room.
Read Meera Vasudevan’s full post below:
So JB Is airing on Saturday and Sunday. When I did the show I had very particularly mentioned that I have a small child back home who is watching and judging not only me but also judging my interviewer on the way the person is treating his mother. Anyway, a lot of my actual words have been misrepresented and clippings that I have not actually seen on the show like the intimate clipping from my most esteemed life-best film Thanmatra have been added separately to make it look sensational. A lot has been misappropriated and misrepresented in the messages and troll clippings put up on social media via the show JB Junction.
But in my heart, I stand strong and confident because I know that when someone misbehaves with us, it doesn’t show badly on us but it only shows their true character. I didn’t know much about this show but I had given my word to do it so I kept my word and did it. I am a professional and I am a confident, strong woman who believes that I have only amazingly supportive, intelligent and sensitive people watching what I say. When you promote something dirty about a woman, you must remember that you’re not just insinuating her but also insulting all the women especially your own mother, sisters and wife in the process. Good luck and my heartfelt prayers and forgiveness to all those who get a thrill from demeaning people in the film industry. What goes around comes back around! That said, I am grateful for all your support, love and understanding... Love, Meera Vasudevan