Human rights groups in Tamil Nadu have hailed the decision by the Tamil Film Producers Council (TFPC) to ban a director from making any film for one year after he slapped an actress.
Padmapriya, who was shooting for ‘Mirugam', had on Oct. 18 complained to the producers and artists' associations that director Samy had abused and slapped her while filming.
"He called it a day and we packed. Suddenly, he just slapped me. It was unprovoked and I was shocked," said Padmapriya. She also alleged that he has been continuously harassing actors during the film's shooting. "His verbal abuses were unbearable. I do not want to call it sexual abuse, but it was surely bad behavior," she said.
The film associations held a joint meeting on Oct. 19, where the director admitted that he had slapped the actress.
"The ‘Mirugam' incident has caused a great deal of embarrassment to the Tamil film indus try. The decision to ban Samy from directing films for a year was unanimous," TFPC vicepresident Anbalaya Prabhakaran said.
The decision of the federations is being seen as an attempt to improve the industry's image.
"Not only the South Indian film industry but every film industry in the country, including Bollywood, needs to be aware about labor norms and gender bias at ordinary worker level," Vasanthi Devi, former chairperson of the Tamil Nadu Commission for Women, told Indo-Asian News Service.
"It is for the welfare of Tamil cinema that we have accepted the unions' decision. We have taken this extreme step in order to prevent such incidents in the future," South Indian Film Artistes Association (SIFFA) vice-president Vijayakumar said.
The decision came after the National Commission for Women (NCW) sent a note to the Film Employees Federation of South India asking them to take immediate action against Samy.
Padmapriya, who was shooting for ‘Mirugam', had on Oct. 18 complained to the producers and artists' associations that director Samy had abused and slapped her while filming.
"He called it a day and we packed. Suddenly, he just slapped me. It was unprovoked and I was shocked," said Padmapriya. She also alleged that he has been continuously harassing actors during the film's shooting. "His verbal abuses were unbearable. I do not want to call it sexual abuse, but it was surely bad behavior," she said.
The film associations held a joint meeting on Oct. 19, where the director admitted that he had slapped the actress.
"The ‘Mirugam' incident has caused a great deal of embarrassment to the Tamil film indus try. The decision to ban Samy from directing films for a year was unanimous," TFPC vicepresident Anbalaya Prabhakaran said.
The decision of the federations is being seen as an attempt to improve the industry's image.
"Not only the South Indian film industry but every film industry in the country, including Bollywood, needs to be aware about labor norms and gender bias at ordinary worker level," Vasanthi Devi, former chairperson of the Tamil Nadu Commission for Women, told Indo-Asian News Service.
"It is for the welfare of Tamil cinema that we have accepted the unions' decision. We have taken this extreme step in order to prevent such incidents in the future," South Indian Film Artistes Association (SIFFA) vice-president Vijayakumar said.
The decision came after the National Commission for Women (NCW) sent a note to the Film Employees Federation of South India asking them to take immediate action against Samy.
Published in Desi Talk Dated: Oct. 26th 2007
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