Sri Reddy triumphs as NHRC steps in, Ram Gopal Varma lauds actress

(Photo credits: Twitter)


Tollywood actress Sri Reddy who initiated her own kind of Me Too campaign against sexual harassment in the film industry tasted her first victory when the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) took suo motu cognizance of her allegations of sexual exploitation. Hours after the NHRC notice, the Movie Artists’ Association (MAA) on Thursday lifted a ban on her.

Not just that it also lifted the ban on other actors associated with her and announced setting up of a Committee Against Sexual Harassment which would meet once in three months. The MAA  President, Shivaji Raja, declared the committee would comprise senior filmmakers and actors who would look into the complaints of sexual harassment.

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Popular filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma posted a series of tweets in support of the actress, he even termed her ‘Sri Lakshmi Bai’. Here are the tweets.

On 7 March, the actress stripped naked in protest outside the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce in Hyderabad. Sri Reddy had alleged that she has been sexually assaulted by many producers and directors of the film industry. She claimed that her membership in the Movie Artists Association (MAA) had not been accepted, even after she has acted in many films and produced three films.

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Sri Reddy had named Rana Daggubati’s brother and popular producer Suresh Babu’s son Abhiram of sexually exploiting her and Indian Idol fame Sreeram of sending lewd texts. However, none of the messages suggest that she was forced into a relationship with Abhiram.