Vishal Krishna On The MeToo Movement & Safety  For Actresses

Tamil star  Vishal Krishna  who is the  General Secretary  of the South Indian Artistes Association and the President   of Tamil film  Producers Council, is working relentlessly with his peers  to knock down the walls that separate sexual harassment  in the different film industries in India.
“Whether  it is Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam or Kannada cinema, the workplace must be made conducive to  actress’ safety and  comfort. The  fear  of losing job opportunities  must stop. Girls must not succumb to sexual pressures  just to get work,” saysVishal, as he vows that women must feel safe while working in the entertainment industry.

“And I am not just talking about the Tamil industry  or  the Telugu industry. But all the film industries in India,bet it Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bhojpuri…all  must unite on the issue of providing  safety for women  on film sets, and off the sets where there is so much exploitation,”  says Vishal.

So would he  agree  that there is need to  provide  protection  from sexual exploitation?

Says Vishal, “Oh yes,there most definitely is. And we’re working towards ensuring it. My new release  Sandakozhi 2   features two major female characters,  played by Keerthi Suresh and Varlaxmi Sarathkumar. Both were ensured complete safety. When my films are shot I will ensure the women are well looked after. We need to create  the same  comfort level  for women in cinema  across  the  country.”

Though  Vishal is all for  the MeToo  movement he feels the issue is getting tangled with personal agendas. “MeToo started  off with the  best of intentions of exposing  sexual predators. But somewhere   the Movement has been hijacked by some amount of selfinterest. We’ve come  to a stage when any one  who has an axe to grind, maybe a role that was denied or a  project that was promised and  never fulfilled, coming forward  to  take revenge. It has come to a  stage where I feel I may wake up to hear my name being maligned. This  atmosphere  of distrust suspicion and  fear must stop.”

Though Vishal feels the exploitation must stop he  also feels the stars’ names are being  pulled down for  personal reasons. “There is a difference between exploitation and a consensual relationship. I’ve dated a  couple of girls  from the  film industry. It doesn’t mean I’ve exploited them.”