South Actor Sowmya Accuses Tamil Director Of Raping Her At 18, Says 'He Groomed Me As A Sex Slave'

As several prominent figures in the Malayalam film industry have been accused of sexual assault, actress Sowmya has made alarming accusations against a Tamil filmmaker,

New Delhi: Tamil film industry has seen the effects of the Malayalam film industry's epidemic of sexual abuse and rape reports. Sowmya, a famous actress from South India, courageously discussed her sexual assault story. She shared some horrifying details of how a Tamil filmmaker groomed her to be a ‘sex slave’ when she was 18 years old.

Sowmya said in an interview with NDTV that the filmmaker and his wife contacted her when she was 18 years old and that he used her by acting as a father figure. She said, “One fine day, when his wife wasn’t around, this man, while calling me his daughter, kissed me. I completely froze. I was so desperate to tell my friends but couldn’t… I was ashamed, thinking I had done something wrong and that I was obligated to be nice to this man."

As Sowmya persisted in going to dance rehearsals, the abuse became more severe, as she disclosed. Ultimately, the director raped her after taking advantage of her. “So I continued going for practice, for dance rehearsals… every day I went back and gradually, step by step, this man completely used my body to his advantage. At some point he forced himself on me… so he raped me. This went on for close to a year while I was in college,” the actress claimed.

"It took 30 years for me to heal and recover from this sense of 'shame'... I encourage survivors to report all such abuse," she added. 

Although Sowmya has refrained from publicly naming the filmmaker, she has expressed her intention to provide his identity to the special police team established by the government of Kerala. There have been allegations of sexual harassment in the film industry, and this special team is investigating them.

Sowmya On Co-Stars

Sowmya also said that a co-star sexually molested her in the 90s. She made the following statement: “One of my co-stars, who sexually abused me, has been named in the Hema Committee report. Directors, actors, and technicians also abused me.” 

Currently, FIRs have been filed against Mukesh, Siddique, Jayasurya, Edavela Babu, Nivin Pauly, Maniyan Pillai Raju, directors Ranjith and V. K. Prakash, and production executives Vichu after accusations filed by female actresses.