Mumbai: Actress Bhavana Menon broke her silence on sexual harassment and her fight for justice, which led her to lock horns with some of the powerful people in the Malayalam film industry. She refused to name the actor who has been accused of perpetrating the crime but made it crystal clear that she would fight till the end. She was one among the speakers in the ‘We The Women’ event titled ‘The Global Townhall’. While talking to Barkha Dutt, Bhavana exp explained the trauma and emotional struggle that she underwent during the last five years.
“My whole life turned upside down. I was constantly searching for something to put the blame on. I used to think that it was a long nightmare. I was blaming myself following the incident. The court proceedings started in 2020. I had to be there in the court for 15 days”.
Bhavana recalled that many people stood by me during those days of agony. ” But I was totally alone at the court. And I felt devastated. But then I realised that I must fight. I realised that I had done nothing wrong. I realised that I should prove my innocence. When I came out of the court on the 15th day, I felt I’m a survivor and not a victim. My mind convinced me that now, I’m a survivor,” said Bhavana.
Bhavana has stated that she has come out in the open to speak of her experiences because she wants to fight for dignity and justice and her battle is not only for herself but for all the girls and women who have had similar experiences. ” Quite often the perpetrators are back into normalcy very fast. But the victims find it tough to lead a normal life. Let us bring back the victims to have a normal, peaceful life .”
“Five-year-long journey was very difficult for me. Some people were blaming me for the incident and alleged it was a fake case. I was broken into a million pieces. I wanted to stand up and face my life but such incidents were pulling me down. My parents were insulted. I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs. I’m not a person to do such things. I received messages asking to kill myself and warning me ‘You are going to pay for this,” she explained.
“I’m grateful to those who stood by me. I must say, opening up about the incident through Instagram was cathartic. I want to prove my innocence. I want to retain my dignity. Let me fight, let me prove that I didn’t do anything wrong,” she added.