Sruthi Hariharan talks to Baradwaj Rangan about how she started her career as a background dancer before falling in love with the process of filmmaking. She talks about how rare it is for an actress in the Kannada film industry to speak her mind and about using art to drive change.
The acclaimed actress also talks about the MeToo movement, explaining her stand on the ongoing controversy and the difference between ‘bad touch’ and a harmless one. Calling her fight a need of the hour and something she needs to do for her future daughter, Sruthi also explains the emotional, physical and financial toll of the entire ordeal.
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Baradwaj Rangan 
brangan
December 28, 2018
Got this comment on FB:
Just watched your interview with Sruthi Hariharan…its easily one of the best interviews… All questions were fantastic and it was great that the focus was on the harassment she experienced…me too…
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brangan
December 28, 2018
And this came on another thread:
sridharraman: @brangan, really sorry to intrude on this post, but is there one for the Sruthi Hariharan interview? She was so amazing! Thanks immensely for the interview.
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as2001blog
December 29, 2018
Thank you for this wonderfully done interview. I am in awe – at how well thought out the questions were, and how wonderfully articulated Shruti’s responses were. I agree – it wouldn’t have been easy. Thank you both.
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Anu Warrier
December 29, 2018
Thank you for this interview. Kudos to her for speaking out – it can’t have been easy. Also, she articulates why it is so difficult for women to speak up, and the fallout when they do.
Standing and applauding her courage.
#metoo
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Vidya Ramesh
December 29, 2018
Such an honest , beautiful girl she is. More power to her! This interview and the one Anupama did with Parvathy and two others made me feel so sad though BR. It’s almost heart breaking to hear them say that they may never work that much again and they are being sidelined for speaking truth to power. I hope to god that ,that does not happen and they will ride this phase out. They are literally taking one for the team.
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Rad Mahalikudi
December 29, 2018
BR, well done interview. Good to hear the next level of insight from Sruthi. Liked your well thought out questions.
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Anu
December 30, 2018
It just pains me that none of these ladies- in Malayalam, tamil and Kannada- who have come up have got any support from any of the leading actors – save for maybe siddharth prakashraj. A lot of pithy statements made and that is about it. The members of these industries should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. We r losing fantastic actresses/ singers because these industries do not have the guts to stand up for what is right. Sowcar janak who proclaimed herself a feminist also proclaimed the me too movement a kevalam. No support from some women and no support from practically all the leading male stars. The industries are a kevalam
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hari
December 30, 2018
Thanks for the interview BR. Through this I wish all the best to Sruthi, may the force be with you. Thanks for fighting the good fight.
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Vikram S
December 30, 2018
Very good interview, credit goes to you and Shruthi…to you for the way in which you managed to raise all the questions in a non-judgmental way and to Shruthi for being so articulate, intelligent, forthright and perceptive in her responses…I hope she continues to get work across various languages and platforms…
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Sifter
December 30, 2018
Wonderful interview. She’s passionately articulate, very thoughtful, but honest with her responses to your well thought out questions. Watching at-least a few of her movies is definitely in my list now.
I loved the way how her eyes light up with her smile too and the way her whole face emotes when she gets passionate about things that exited her during this interview.
Hope she has a long successful career in her future and we get to see her more and more.
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Abc
December 30, 2018
BR, this is such an insightful interview. She was clear and honest articulating the details. It would have been really hard for her to relive it. But she braved through it.
On a side note, I will recommend everybody here to watch Sruthi’s tamil film “Nila” which is available on Netflix. There was a mention about it in this interview as well.
I felt Sruthi was terrific in it. Her eyes are so captivating and full of depth. She conveys so much with her expressions. There is a beautiful melancholic quality about her. I sincerely hope we get to see a lot more of her on the big screen.
BR wrote about the movie in the last paras of this article, https://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2016/12/03/surround-the-world/
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krishikari
December 31, 2018
Brave, beautiful young woman and so expressive and articulate. It was indeed a great interview but it leads me to ask why men in cinema are being let off the hook when being interviewed. (not BR, but all interviewers) Their interviews are only about their work and barely touch on the treatment the women in the same workspace are subject to. Why is this when its they who are responsible for the harassment? If they are asked anything at all (Rajeev Masand makes an effort) they mouth platitudes and act like innocent bystanders. All of them need to be pressed on the issue and questioned on what they are doing to improve the situation as costars, directors, music directors, camrra men, producers or whatever. They all contribute to the environment so they should fix it.
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ramitbajaj01
December 31, 2018
What an emotional roller coaster of a ride this interview is! Sruthi is so passionate, not just about women rights but also about cinema. As bold and clear headed she is about her meToo journey, she is equally excited about the whole filmmaking experience. She seems to be taking each challenge head on, and moving on mellower and hungrier with sharp and grounded takeaways from each phase. Her ease with the camera and with the whole interview is especially remarkable. She was constantly taking intelligent pauses to appreciate and reflect on the deep and relevant question just asked. She was in complete awe of the interviewer. She would take her moment, think through and then give an honest and coherent reply. 45 minutes went by in a jiffy!
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Srinivas R
December 31, 2018
Fabulous interview. Kudos to her for opening up about delicate questions and to you for the balancing act of asking tricky questions but being sensitive to her trauma. Really liked how you touched upon the impact on family. A very emotional interview
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shaviswa
January 1, 2019
Not sure if any of you have seen the Sowcar Janaki interview by YG Mahendran.
After watching that, I lost whatever respect I had for YGM. I had always suspected him to be a pathetic bootlicker but with this interview, he came across as the #1 idiot in Tamil cinemas.
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Maru
January 2, 2019
brangan, thanks for this conversation. I loved how utterly clear an honest Shruthi was on how difficult it is to not only judge me-too testimony but also how and where to institute change. Your questions and responses were a terrific example of how to be open with and non judgmental about someone sharing difficult experiences.
I too watched Sowcar Janaki’s comments on the movement and while it was disappointing I wasn’t surprised that someone from her generation steeped she must have been in patriarchal norms couldn’t empathize with the women speaking up. What was a lot more disturbing was Rani Mukerji’s comments on the movement on Rajiv Masand’s year end round table. She was the very embodiment of Marie Antoinette-esque entitlement.It was a head-desk moment if there ever was one. Fortunately, Deepika and Anushka pushed back hard so there’s some hope for the future.
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Ravi K
January 2, 2019
Maru wrote: “I too watched Sowcar Janaki’s comments on the movement and while it was disappointing I wasn’t surprised that someone from her generation steeped she must have been in patriarchal norms couldn’t empathize with the women speaking up.”
Reminds me of this:
http://reductress.com/post/older-woman-appalled-by-younger-generations-insistence-on-being-respected-by-men/
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Rahul
January 3, 2019
Good one Ravi K! In fact that site reductress is pure gold . I love all their content.
Since someone is talking about Friends on the other board-
I thought I will share this hilarious line from this post –
http://reductress.com/post/how-to-not-take-it-personally-when-other-women-are-in-their-early-20s/
” You know what it’s like to watch Friends un-ironically.”
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anon
January 3, 2019
I haven’t watched the interview but I wanted to say how disheartening the response to Chinmayi has been, in TN. I always suspected TN was incredibly backward in treatment of women (don’t @ me with literacy rates and HDI index and what not) from my occasional watching of Tamil movies and shows like Neeya Naana. I follow Chinmayi on twitter and the things she has t deal with there and the kind of non support and hate she gets from industry veterans is shocking. There isn’t even a pretence at saying the right things (even if nothing gets done on the ground). Compared to Bollywood or even Tollywood, we’ve fallen far far behind. The men can get away with anything and the women have v strict lines and punishment for approaching anywhere near it. But the line in Tamil cinema is drawn far far away from it is in Bollywood. Gross. I’m done with Tamil films altogether.
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shaviswa
January 3, 2019
I want to make a confession here. When I listened to Sruthi on this interview, speak about her experience, the thought process that she went through before speaking about the harassment, her convictions, I am totally able to buy into what she says. When she says she kept quite at that time because her career was in line, it sounds honest.
I did not get the same feeling when Chinmayi spoke about her experience and the reasons behind her silence earlier.
I may be prejudiced, I may be wrong in my perception. But somehow I feel Sruthi comes out as a lot more honest, someone who is genuinely trying to highlight a problem that she faced and that others may also be facing.
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Srinivas R
January 4, 2019
@shaviswa – may be no one offered Chinmayee the courtesy of patient non judgemental conversation that BR had with Sruthi. All her communication has been through social media and sometimes hostile media. One her story does not resonate with you?
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brangan
January 4, 2019
Weren’t there a couple of interviews of Chinmayee? I seem to recall by Abishek Raaja…
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Aditya (Gradwolf)
January 4, 2019
Srinivas R: https://silverscreen.in/features/in-the-eye-of-a-storm-chinmayi-sripaada-talks-life-music-activism-building-a-brand-against-all-odds/
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Srinivas R
January 4, 2019
Not aware of interviews by Abishek Raaja, will look up…
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Rahul
January 4, 2019
Shaviswa, can you please elaborate why you feel Chinmayi is not honest? I know, you said its a feeling you had, but if you try to deconstruct it , maybe its useful for us to understand something that is widespread.
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Naveen
January 4, 2019
not only not supporting Chinmayee, it was more disgusting to see a few ex-heroines ( Khushboo and Gayatri ) trying to give a clean chit to Vairmauthu. ofcourse it is their opinion based on their personal experiences with him. Chinmayee is having a tough time with the dubbing union tantrums too.
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shaviswa
January 4, 2019
@Rahul Somehow I cannot come to terms with what she says, that she did not have the guts to make an issue out of it. I remember her and her mother creating a ruckus when she was attacked by Twitter handles for some comment she made on Srilankan Fishermen. The attacks were actually pretty vicious and there were also some threatening phone calls etc. The women didn’t flinch. The same Chinmayi says that she gathered the guts only after she got married – earlier as just two women without any family support, they did not have the guts to call out Vairamuthu.
I can cite some more but to borrow a verse from the author Thevan (of Thuppariyum Sambu fame), aval vaarthaigalil unmaiyin naadham illai.
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shaviswa
January 4, 2019
I saw one interview on Thanthi TV I think. The way she spoke in that interview was nowhere close to how Sruthi came across in this. There was some kind of – for lack of a better word – a motive to what she was saying. At least that was how I felt.
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Anuja Chandramouli
January 5, 2019
Lovely interview BR. Really moved. There is an undeniable honesty to what she has said. Regarding the person she mentioned, years ago, a friend of mine who is not an actress but did do a small role in big budget film for a lark during her college days told about how she was asked to meet this actor to discuss a role and had a terrifying experience. Shruti is right. It is important to speak out. There needs to be change and we need to create safe spaces for these conversations to happen. She is truly inspiring. You did an amazing thing for the #MeToo movement too BR!
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Madan
January 5, 2019
Fantastic interview. It has also been interesting to observe the difference between the reactions to it here vis a vis the youtube comments where there are viewers claiming the interview feels staged and that Sruthi looks fake (er, because she apparently smiles too much). That is, there is, I am afraid, little empathy for women in her position outside enclaves like this ‘forum’.
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Doba
January 5, 2019
What a lovely interview! I think the tricky thing in the metoo movement is to say that you HAVE to believe someone. We can’t force somebody to believe / disbelieve anything. But as somebody here put it – showing basic courtesy and giving a person a chance to say their piece in a safe space where the interviewer is not coming across as judge / jury – I think thats doable.
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Voldemort
January 9, 2019
Have not been able to visit this space for a while now as I was kinda caught up. Just saw this interview, and BR sir, my respect for you increased a 1000fold. Thank you very much for this, sir. You are a great human being. Such a patient, understanding and non-judgemental interviewer is very hard to find.
Shruthi is wonderful. More power to her! Good luck to her for all that she does. You go girl!
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An Jo
January 14, 2019
Are these days gone forever? Are we no longer allowed to talk, unless and until we have a spasm between the heart and the mind?
The latest, and the BIGGEST, is Hirani…
https://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/rajkumar-hirani-accused-of-sexual-assault-by-woman-who-worked-on-sanju_in_5c349472e4b0116c11f0209f?yy
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An Jo
January 14, 2019
#MeToo: Munnabhai 3 on hold till Rajkumar Hirani gets clean chit
According to the latest update, Rajkumar Hirani’s Munnabhai 3 has been put on hold, till his name doesn’t get cleared. The filmmaker was accused of sexually assaulting a woman during the filming of Sanju.
However, the allegations have had an adverse affect on Hirani’s work. According to a report in a daily, Munnabhai 3 has been put on hold, till he gets a clean cheat. A source told the tabloid, “In a meeting in late December, it was decided that Fox would pull the plug on Munna Bhai 3 if Hirani was found guilty. The studio stands in solidarity with the survivor. VVC Films too has taken the matter seriously, and dropped Hirani’s name from the promotional material of Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga.”
“An ICC set up by VVC Films will investigate the matter. Munna Bhai 3, however, by default, is on hold till Hirani gets a clean chit,” the source added.
https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/celebrities/story/-metoo-munnabhai-3-on-hold-till-rajkumar-hirani-gets-clean-chit-1430249-2019-01-14
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vijay
January 19, 2019
At least the Hindi film industry seems to be doing something. Look at the tamil film industry and the deafening silence. The empty platitudes from the big stars, the shitty tamil media which harasses the victims during press meets but does not even meet the accused, the so called film union leaders who are as crass as they come.BTW, Is there a media(both print and tv included) more shittier than the tamil media? I am asking this based on not just one thing, but a series of observations over the years. Tamilnadu is a regressive state. It kind of reflects in the brand of politicians and film stars we have and celebrate. Economically it might be better, but societal mind-set wise I would rank it on par with the BIMARU states. I am sure the Arjuns and Vairamuthus know that it is just a matter of time before this social media-driven mini-movement loses steam, they will be just biding their time maintaining a low profile.
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