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'As soon as the door closed...': Malayalam actress Usha recalls a senior actor misbehaving with her; here's how Mohanlal reacted
Malayalam actress Usha recalls horrifying incident of facing misbehavior at the hands of a senior actor, and how revolting against it impacted her career.
Trigger: This article contains mention of physical abuse and misbehavior.
The Malayalam film industry has recently been under intense scrutiny after the Hema Committee unearthed several cases of sexual abuse and other untoward incidents faced by many women working within the industry. Now, actress Usha has broken her silence about facing misbehavior at the hands of a senior actor, which unfortunately took a toll on her career.
As per a report by Manorama Online, Usha recalled a horrifying incident when a senior actor tried to misbehave with her inside an elevator. She mentioned that it occurred when she was attending an event in Bahrain, where several other actors, including Mohanlal, were also present.
Narrating the incident, Usha shared, “A show was happening in Bahrain. After the show, we were waiting to go to the airport. Everyone was very tired. Mohanlal asked us to bring our belongings to the hall and said we could sit there and talk. Monisha, Revathi, Sukumari, and others were also there. I took my luggage and got into the elevator. The actor was in the elevator as well. He asked if we were going down. I happily got into the elevator.”
Moving forth in her revelation, Usha mentioned that things became bothersome once the door of the elevator closed and she was left alone with that actor inside of it. She said, “As soon as the door closed, he behaved very inappropriately with me. I hit him. By then, the elevator reached the next floor.”
However, that’s not the end of the matter. Usha, who was left perplexed and disturbed with what the senior actor attempted to do with her, had gone on to approach Mohanlal for reporting the entire episode.
In fact, Usha revealed that one of the other actresses, Sukumari, also heard her mal-experience, and much like Mohanlal, she too agreed that whatever she did was wrong.
Usha said Actor Sukumari also got into the elevator and asked what the problem was. Usha told her what had happened and said she would inform everyone. Lalettan (Mohanlal) came and inquired about the incident, and she told him everything. “Both Lalettan and Sukumari comforted me and said that I had reacted appropriately. That’s when the problems started,” the actress added.
Continuing with her line of thought, Usha Haneef then mentioned that after she complained about that senior actor to Mohanlal and others, she started to get fewer and fewer opportunities at work. In fact, Usha mentioned how people in the industry began to tag her as arrogant, an artist who could easily point fingers at superstars. As a result, she completely stopped getting any film offers.
For the unversed, right after the plethora of allegations came forth in the Malayalam film industry on grounds of women facing different kinds of abuse, it was Mohanlal who left everyone surprised by announcing that he resigned from the post of AMMA’s President.
Disclaimer: If you need support or know someone who is struggling with domestic violence or assault or abuse, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist, NGO or speak to someone about it. There are several helplines available for the same.
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