These experiences stay with your body: Parvathy Thiruvothu on harassment she faced as a child

Parvathy Thiruvothu has once again sparked an important conversation on women’s safety by revisiting memories from her childhood that, she says, still sit uncomfortably with her. Appearing on The Male Feminist podcast, the actor spoke about how early girls are forced to understand fear and vigilance, often before they can even name what is happening to them.

She recalled a particularly disturbing moment from her childhood when a stranger assaulted her in a public space, hitting her on the chest and vanishing immediately. The incident, Parvathy said, was not something she could process then, but it stayed with her. What followed, she explained, was a childhood shaped by constant caution. Her mother, like many others, trained her to navigate streets carefully. Don’t get distracted. Keep your eyes open. Watch men’s hands. “Think about that,” Parvathy said, reflecting on the reality of a society where such instructions become part of parenting young girls.

She also spoke about repeated encounters with public indecency, recalling moments when she turned around to find men exposing themselves. At the time, she had no understanding of what she was witnessing. It was only years later, when looking back, that she realised how these experiences had quietly influenced her sense of safety, her body, and the way she moved through the world.

On the professional front, Parvathy is set to feature in The Storm, a high-octane thriller series that marks Hrithik Roshan’s first production venture under HRX Films for Prime Video. Created and directed by Ajitpal Singh, with writing by Singh, Francois Lunel and Swati Das, the Mumbai-set series also stars Alaya F, Srishti Shrivastava, Rrama Sharma and Saba Azad.