Actress Vichitra, who has acted in several Tamil films and has also done select work in Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada, made a shattering revelation on the sets of Bigg Boss 7 Tamil that is bound to shock you.
During a key task on the show, the actress took to the stage and opened up about an unforgettable episode that resulted in her quitting acting.
Vichitra shares that she was sexually harassed by a leading hero on the sets of a Telugu film, she was shooting for back in 2001. She said that this incident prompted her to quit acting and she never pursued the profession once she got married.
Sharing her ordeal with fellow contestants on the show, Vichitra reveals, “I was working with one of the top heroes for a film. I met the hero there. Before he could even ask my name, he asked: ‘Are you acting in this film?’ When I said yes, he said, ‘Come to my room.’”
As per her version, Vichitra was allotted accommodation at a three-star hotel in Kerala's Palakkad town, where the film was being shot at. At that time, the hotel had just been renovated. To celebrate the same, the management of the hotel had organised a brief gathering, which was also attended by the lead hero. The aforementioned conversation took place at that gathering.
Though Vichitra maintains that she never entertained the request, she was subjected to a lot of heckling. She reveals, “They created a lot of problems at the shooting spot. After 6 pm, men would consume alcohol and bang on my room’s door.”
Eventually, she would request for her room to be changed, a request which was obliged by the hotel's general manager. She adds, “Eventually, they got irritated. They wanted to teach me a lesson. I did not know about it.”
The worst fate followed during the shoot of a scene where a village was recreated and goons are supposed to trouble the villagers. Under the pretext of acting, Vichitra was repeatedly groped by a stuntman. When she confronted him about it in front of the stunt master, the stunt master slapped her instead. She reveals, “I caught him in the act during the third time. I took him to the stunt master and complained to him that he was touching me inappropriately. The stunt master removed my hand from the stunt man’s collar and slapped me hard. I was stunned!”
Vichitra shares that she had taken matters to the actors' union but her complaints were not paid heed to. The general manager of her hotel, who eventually became her spouse, chose to offer his testimony as her witness but she had no other form of support to corroborate her story. This incident made her reflect upon her choices and eventually, she quit the industry.
While Vichitra chose not to mention any names while narrating her ordeal, netizens have been quick to pick up the chatter and reference the incident to the shoot of the Telugu film Bhalevadivi Basu featuring Nandamuri Balakrishna. Back in the day, India Today had done a report which said that a complaint against stunt master A Vijay was filed by Vichitra for physical assault. Netizens even pointed out the scenes from the film which Vichitra were referring to.
It remains to be seen which direction will this conversation steer towards.
