Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra on sexual harassment in cinema

Sreelekha Mitra. (Delivered)

Sreelekha Mitra, in a recent interview with Frontline, spoke about the reasons why she remained silent all these years. “I thought I had put a stop to it because this objectification of women in society has always been there,” she was quoted as saying.

Sreelekha Mitra revealed that the incident took place in 2009 when she was called for the audition of Paleri Manikam: Oru Pathira Kolapathakathinte Katha by the aforementioned filmmaker.

She alleged that after the proceedings were over, director Joshy Joseph mediated the entire process.

The Bengali actor stood by her allegations and demanded that Ranjith admit his mistake.

Also read: Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra accuses Malayalam director Ranjith of ‘inappropriate behaviour’

‘The objectification of women is normalized in cinema’

Sreelekha Mitra noted that she had been repeating for the past two weeks that it was not necessarily a sexual assault; it was more like he was testing the waters. Since the case is sub-judice, she said nothing further.

“The intention was not appropriate. I was completely new to that particular state and area, with people I did not know. I came back the next day. Back then, social media was not as powerful as it is now. I narrated the entire incident to Joshy Joseph and when I came back, I spoke to my ex-husband about it. I thought I had put a lid on it because this way of objectifying women in society has always been there,” the Bengali actor said.

Sreelekha Mitra further pointed out that she is not the only one in the film industry who is raising the issue of sexual harassment, exploitation and objectification of women.

“Many have tried to express their anger before but were either silenced or too afraid to name the abusers. The problem is that in our industry this is very normal.”

Also read: Kerala minister backs director Ranjith amid allegations of ‘inappropriate behaviour’

‘Ready to suffer the consequences’

The Bengali actor recalled that when the #MeToo movement was happening in Hollywood, she and Pooja Bhatt talked about it in India. “We thought it would take time for the movement to happen here, but it has happened now.”

She added: “When we speak the truth, there will inevitably be repercussions. And I am ready to face them.”

Moreover, Sreelekha Mitra noted that there would be backlash, especially since she had taken the names of some powerful people, including those in Kolkata. According to her, it is all about power and the right of the powerful to abuse their power. “Ranjith happens to be one such powerful person.”

She stressed that she had nothing to lose and did not want favors from anyone.

When asked if she had lost work following her revelations about sexual harassment by Bengali filmmakers, Sreelekha Mitra confirmed that she had not received any work since then.

The actor also stated that when she was not offered work despite having two back-to-back hits, she understood how women are forced to have a “relationship with someone with power” in the industry.

(Edited by Sumavarsha)

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