Nadigar Sangam To Form Committee For Women's Rights In Tamil Cinema: General Secretary Vishal

Nadigar Sangam, the Tamil union for film, television and stage actors, an equivalent of AMMA in the Malayalam film industry, will form a committee soon to look into human rights abuses, including sexual harassment in Tamil cinema. Strict action will be taken against the accused if they are found guilty after investigation. Actor Vishal is the organisation’s general secretary. In a press conference held on his birthday, the actor answered questions about whether he intends to form a panel like the Hema Committee. Vishal said that it is the responsibility of the Nadigar Sangam.

Mathrubhumi reported that the Nadigar Sangam has also stated that the ban against the accused will last five years. Such a decision has been taken against the Tamil film industry in the wake of the Hema Committee report which brought the sexual exploitation and injustices experienced by women in the Malayalam film industry to the attention of the society. Actor Nassar is the president of Nadigar Sangam with Vishal as general secretary and Karthi, Ponvannan and Karunas as committee members.

“The Nadigar Sangam will form a committee in ten days. The procedures for this are being completed. The professional announcement will be made soon. It is our duty. The organisation is not only for men in the film industry. It is also for women, they should know that someone is there for them. There are men in Tamil cinema who approach women with bad demands without any respect for them. Women should be careful.” said Vishal as quoted by Mathrubhumi.

Tamil actress, Chinmayi believes that nothing as extensive as the Hema Committee will ever form in the Tamil film industry. In a conversation with news18’s Showsha, Chinmayi, who has been making several allegations against lyricist Vairamuthu and Radha Ravi for the past several months, claimed that there is no possibility of such action in the Tamil film industry. She pointed to the lack of concrete actions against Vairamuthu as an example. She also highlighted a recent statement by M.P. Saminathan, the Minister for Information & Publicity, who, while speaking about the Hema Committee report, claimed that no such complaints were made in the Tamil cinema industry like in the Malayalam film industry.