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Body-shaming, misogyny, eerie silence: Ugly pattern behind Tamil film press meets Women being subjected to inappropriate behaviour in the film industry is not new, especially at press meets for small budget movies. Synopsis: At a Chennai press meet for an upcoming Tamil film ‘Others’, actress Gouri Kishan confronted YouTuber RS Karthik for body-shaming her. He justified his stance, instead of apologising, sparking outrage. Industry bodies, actors like Khushbu Sundar, and journalists condemned the act, highlighting recurring sexism at small film events. Meanwhile, calls have grown to expose producers encouraging such questions. At the press meet for the film Others held in Chennai on 6 November, a controversy erupted over a question previously asked to the film’s lead actress, Gouri Kishan, by a YouTuber. A few days earlier, at an earlier press meet for the same film, a YouTuber named RS Karthik had asked the film’s hero, “You lifted the heroine in the film — how much did she weigh?” The body-shaming nature of the question shocked Gouri Kishan, and when she saw Karthik again at yesterday’s event, she confronted him, asking how he could ask such a question. The YouTuber, instead of apologising, tried to justify himself, leading to a heated argument at the venue. Also Read: Senior actor Urvashi speaks out against body shaming in films, says she’d never encourage it Following this incident, several senior actors, political leaders, and organisations — including the The South Indian Artists’ Association, Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, Chennai Press Club, and actor-politician Khushbu Sundar — have issued statements condemning the YouTuber and expressing support for Gouri Kishan. ‘Nothing new’ Instances of women being subjected to inappropriate behaviour in the film industry are not new. Especially at press meets for small or mid-level film releases, women hosts and actresses often face intrusive, sexist or body-shaming questions — mostly to create controversial content for YouTube channels, according to long-standing allegations. For example, this May, anchor Aishwarya Ragupathi hosted a film event. As it was peak summer, she reminded the audience to stay hydrated. She was wearing a sleeveless jacket. View this post on Instagram Instead of focusing on her message, a male reporter made a snide remark on stage, asking if her outfit was “to suit the weather,” triggering a controversy. When she questioned him, several other male reporters shouted her down, turning it into a public argument. In another event, actor Cool Suresh placed his garland on Aishwarya without her consent on stage. She called him out immediately. Yet, many present failed to support her even then. Now, a similar incident has happened to Gouri Kishan. ‘Don’t even consider them journalists’ Speaking about such recurring incidents, Aishwarya says, “I don’t even consider such people journalists. They don’t know what journalism means. They’re doing it only for entertainment.” Also Read: The art of shaming a Hindu who refuses to be a majoritarian bully When asked if other scribes or organisers defend women in such situations, she says, “Some support them, some support us. But mostly, they just tell us to ignore it. Even many PROs ask us why we questioned them in return. We get very little real support.” She adds, “They ask these questions because they know no one will question them back. The moment we question them, they can’t handle it.” Aishwarya also says such people rarely behave this way at big film events with major stars. “At big launches, they never ask such questions. It’s only at smaller events where they think we are below them and they can say anything.” ‘Wrong, even if producers or PROs encourage it’ Chennai Press Club general secretary M Haseef condemned the journalists involved, adding, “Some journalists claim that producers and PROs themselves tell them to ask such questions to generate free publicity, especially for small films. Even if that is true, such questions must never be asked.” Actor and BJP leader Khushbu Sundar was more scathing, “If producers or PROs really tell you to do this, name them. Would you still do it if they paid you to insult a woman in your own family? Where is your conscience?” She added, “Men who behave like this are only proving how they were raised.” ‘Confronted him so it doesn’t happen to other women’ Speaking to the media, Gouri Kishan said, “I didn’t do this just for myself. I raised my voice so that no woman would have to face this again.” She added, “I won’t even call him a journalist — that would be an insult to journalism. He is just a vlogger with a huge male ego. When I pointed out his mistake, he insisted it wasn’t wrong and tried to justify himself.” Also Read: I’m not backing down, says Anasuya Bharadwaj, as she stands up to age-shaming trolls Gouri said such people believe women are beneath them. “They body-shame us, justify it, and when a woman questions them, they can’t tolerate it.” She also revealed, “He even turned to the men around and asked them to ‘explain it to me’ as if only men could make me understand. And then he said I should apologise. He is the one who has to apologise. Women should not have to endure such questions anymore.” ‘Producers or PROs must be exposed’ Khushbu suggests, “It doesn’t matter how many journalists you invite — what matters is how many good journalists you invite. These people don’t decide whether a film succeeds or fails. Even a few good journalists are enough.” She also insisted that if producers or PROs are encouraging vulgar questions, they should be exposed. Haseef said the Press Club is ready to call all stakeholders — producers’ council, PROs’ association, cinema journalists’ union — for a joint discussion to find a solution. He also urged producers and PROs to stop encouraging such behaviour. (Edited by Amit Vasudev)
