After the indifferent silence of Rajinikanth, another actor has caused uproar on social media by his comments on the Hema Committee report. Jiiva, who is a prominent actor in the Tamil film industry, has said that there are no cases of sexual abuse and exploitation in Kollywood and these cases are only found in Kerala.
The actor said in a recent interview that this is the part 2 of the MeToo movement and this is disrupting the healthy environment of movie industries. Jiiva said he has heard about the report and went on to state, “I can’t keep replying again and again. Such issues don’t happen in the Tamil industry; they only happen in Kerala.” This invited heated replies from netizens and even celebrities. Singer Chinmayi Sripada who is well known for many Tamil songs, has responded to the statement by saying “I really do not understand how they are saying sexual harassment does not exist in Tamil Industry. HOW?!”
It really does not make any sense why actors from the Tamil film industry are not openly recognizing the problem and addressing it. They are a neighbour to Mollywood and reflect many of their values too. We have seen actors like Chiyaan Vikram condemning the cases of molestation and supporting the recommendations of the Hema Committee report. Now other colleagues must acknowledge this too and should step down from their ivory towers. There is not many differences to the core of the many film industries of India, and a problem in one must be acted against by all the other too.