Kochi: Liju Krishna, director of the upcoming Malayalam film Padavettu, was arrested in Kerala’s Kannur on Sunday, March 6, after being accused of rape. Liju (36), who hails from Mattannur in Kannur, was taken into custody following a complaint by a woman, filed at the Infopark police station in Kakkanad. With Liju’s arrest, filming of Padavettu has come to a standstill.
Allegedly, Liju assaulted the woman on various occasions over six months, from December 2020 to June 2021. Liju allegedly met the woman through social media and was living with her. He raped her on the pretext of marrying her.
Here is the turbulent story of the survivor in her own words, published on the FB page of Women Against Sexual Harassment:
Since February 2020, the director of the movie Padavettu, Liju Krishna (age 30) established contact with me and pretended to be friends with me. Taking advantage of my polite demeanour he worked towards convincing me and others that I was engaged in a romantic relationship with him.
On June 21, 2020, I was forcibly taken to the premises rented for the production purposes of his film ‘Padavettu’ being produced by the banner of Sunny Wayne Productions, and I was sexually abused there. Under the pretext that he was undergoing intense mental stress due to film production issues, he insisted that he required my presence to find some relief and drove me to the production flat in his car that afternoon. As soon as we got there he overpowered me with physical force and subjected me to forced penile penetration that was vaginal and then anal. Since I was menstruating I could not muster the physical strength to obstruct him. Despite the blood flow, he ignored it and continued to force himself on me. Due to the forced anal penetration, my spine was injured. He utilised his brute strength to quell my resistance and continued the torture. He convinced me that he desired my body due to his love for me. But when I requested him to consider my physical condition and take me to a hospital he refused to do so. Then for months, I had no news from him.
Also, since it was my first sexual encounter in life, I was unable to deal with the trauma. Almost every day I tried to inform him of my severely deteriorating physical and mental condition but there was no response from him at all
In October 2020, he contacted me requesting help to find a new place of residence for the post-production of the movie. He referred to his liabilities and persistent issues with the film to explain why he had not been in touch since the last incident – he also claimed that he could not bear to stay away from me. He claimed that if I told anyone about what had previously happened between us, it would adversely affect his film. He assured me that everything would be fine once the film was completed. As per his request, I found him a new residence for the production. I actively participated in revising the script and preparing the content for the second schedule. During that whole duration, he continued to physically and mentally and sexually exploit me.
In January 2021, I found out I was pregnant but suffered a miscarriage due to the continuing sexual violence. With that my physical and mental health completely collapsed. Coupled with the trauma of the first rape incident – I sank into a trauma bond with him and his authority and privilege.
He gained sympathy from me by highlighting the ongoing challenges with his film and his own health problems. In June 2021 he was filming in Kanjileri, Kannur, and he invited me to his home near the location and forced me to stay with his family there. He had portrayed to his family members that I was the assistant director of his film. While staying there, one night when everyone was asleep, he came to my bedroom and he forced himself on me again. When I raised an alarm, he quickly left the room. I became very fearful and returned to my hometown the next day without speaking to anyone there about this incident. Since my life had become unbearable, I did my best to avoid contacting him. But fearing that I might report these incidents somewhere, he continued trying to reach out to me through the executive producer of ‘Padavettu’ Bibin Paul, and his close friend Manoj. He also convinced others working on the film to speak to me. He saw me as a sex object and continued to try to use me that way. In order to step out of this trauma, I went for counselling with a psychiatrist. Saying “I love sex, I love your body” he tried to convince me that “rape” is only if you are tied up and assaulted and that nothing else amounts to rape. He repeatedly warned me that “even if you talk about it outside no one will believe you”. I also sought help from a psychiatrist to get over the trauma but Liju Krishna had subjugated me to an extent that I couldn’t get out of this toxic relationship immediately. My weight went from 60 kg to 32 kg. As of now, my health has deteriorated to an extent that I am unable to sit up straight or walk properly. I am currently sustaining under the protection of my friends.
From 2020 till date, Liju Krishna has made me do a lot of work for the film ‘Padavettu’ in multiple capacities. These include writing script dialogues, scripting song sequences, and writing correspondence with a company called SaReGaMa with regard to the sale of the film. In May 2021, at Liju Krishna’s request, I reworked the screenplay for the second schedule. Several significant changes in the screenplay were discussed and incorporated and handed over as a hard copy to him. To my knowledge, what is in the movie right now is the climax and revised scenes that I wrote for the movie. I have evidence of all the communication that was done with me in this regard. I was not given any professional credit for all the work I have done. There was no official grievance redressal cell (IC) in the production, where I could complain about the physical and mental and sexual abuse that director Liju Krishna put me through for two years – with an emphasis on assault, so I tried to inform the film’s team but to no avail. Liju Krishna portrayed this relationship to everyone around as a consensual relationship and caused me constant mental and physical stress, destroying my self-esteem and my desire to continue living. Liju Krishna’s cruel and inhuman act of forcing physical and sexual acts on me without my consent has caused me great pain and mental anguish. I hope that taking this complaint up legally would help to ensure that no other woman is subjected to such brutal experiences by him.