Chinmayi Sripaada, the 34-year-old playback singer, won the Ananda Vikatan Award, for the song Kaathalae Kaathalae from last year’s blockbuster Tamil film 96. Her songs in the film have received some pretty rave reviews. Even Tamil actress Trisha, who won the Best Actor award, said: “I sometimes felt she was more Jaanu (Trisha’s character in the film) than me.” While Sripaada basked in the appreciation she was getting, she was also aware that many from the industry were purposefully avoiding her.

Why? Because four months ago, she had come out with her #MeToo story from her early days in the Tamil film industry. She called out Vairamuthu, a powerful Tamil poet and lyricist, for sexual misconduct.

“Until then, the feeling of being a ‘victim’ was ingrained in my mind,” said Sripaada. “I constantly felt like I couldn’t go through with this. My parents separated when I was a year old. There wasn’t a day in my life when I didn’t grow up knowing I was raised by a divorcee. My grandfather had to stop by every now and then to be the male face of the house.”

“If #MeToo had not happened, I would have probably shared what happened to me with maybe 10 to 15 people in my circle. But I started hearing about stories from my own fraternity (Tamil film industry) and I thought I must speak up,” she added. “When I performed Oru Deivam Thantha Poove on stage for the first time at a charity concert, I had a mishap and fell off the stage. Mr. Vairamuthu was the first person to call home to check on me. I remember being in awe of him. I thought I should learn to be a good human being from him.”

But since she called Vairamuthu out, she has been banned by the Tamil dubbing association and work offers have dried up as well. “I have lost work on five films, including Petta (Rajinikanth’s latest blockbuster). I have been recording music in Kannada, Malayalam, and Telugu. But strangely, I am not getting any work in the Tamil industry,” she said.

H/T: The Indian Express