When it comes to cinema, a visual medium, women actors and their bodies are frequently treated as public property. What they do on screen is conflated with real life, and many assume that touching them or talking about them sexually should be fine since they’ve consented to certain acts on screen. Further, what should rightfully be viewed as workplace sexual harassment is characterised as the women being of “loose morals”. Men from the industry, too, have cemented this view in the public discourse over the years.
In 2005, for instance, director Thangar Bachan equated women actors with “prostitutes”, when verbally attacking actor Khushbu. Speaking about such incidents, Supriya, proprietor of Chennai-based publicity firm The Glassbox, said that such disparaging comments from industry figures can cast a shadow on stars and events. “Thangar Bachan’s past remarks about Khushbu highlight the unfortunate prevalence of such behaviour in the Tamil film industry. Swift and decisive response to these misogynistic comments is crucial to counteract the negative impact it can have on individuals, particularly women and associated events,” she said.
Chandra noted that in recent years, the culture of promoting films through YouTube channels has led to hunting for clickbait headlines and thumbnails. “I often wonder why some personalities completely unconnected with a film are invited for its promo events. They say or do something controversial or vulgar, and the videos get thousands of eyeballs. This has especially become common for smaller films,” he said.