Kochi: A city-based model has accused leading movie producer Vysakh Rajan of luring her into his apartment with an offer to act in his movie and sexually harassing her. The 25-year-old aspiring actor has filed a police complaint against the producer, who has been granted anticipatory bail.
The incident happened in last March, the woman told Onmanorama. “When I met him in February on the set of ‘Chanks’, he offered me a role in his movie and asked for my phone number. He used to call me up often. He even gave me a SIM card saying that he had a tough time getting me online.
“He offered me a good role n ‘Johny Johny Yes Papa’ and asked me to go to his flat at Kadavanthra to meet the directors. I could not find any director in the flat. Then he said that the director would do what he told him and I had to ‘adjust’ a bit. He said that he wanted to sleep with me and tried to grab me. When I tried to run, he forced me into his bedroom and molested me.”
So what took the woman so long to come out in the open?
“He threatened to ruin my career if I reported him. He tried to pacify me by repeating the offer of a role in the movie. I kept quiet because of fear in the producer and worries about my future.
“But he kept talking dirty over phone and asking me to go to his flat to have sex with him. He often video called me on WhatsApp with no clothes on. He kept evading my questions on his movie plans. He said that he could not offer me a role in ‘Johny Johny Yes Papa’ because of some technical reasons and offered me a role in his next movie which had Nivin Pauly in the lead. But that was just a ruse for him to call me. He used to message me on WhatsApp with invitations to go to his flat.
“I met him at a hotel at Kadavanthra on December 26, when he told me that I had to sleep with him again if I wanted a role in the movie. He even said that it was quite normal in the movie business and he had projected many actresses like that. He warned me of finishing my career if I dared to fight him legally.
“If this was the norm in cinema, I wanted to ensure that no other girl had to undergo the same experience. That is why I complained before the police on December 29. I opened up to a friend first. She encouraged me to go to the police.
Police inaction?
The actress said that she did not have an easy time with the police either.
“The police initially refused to accept my complaint and nudged me to settle the matter with him. Even after accepting the complaint, they just sat on it. They told me I should not go to the media because that would alert the accused to petition the court for an anticipatory bail. The officer tried to convince me that he was acting in my best interest but he was not willing to part with a copy of the FIR or accept more evidence from me.
“One day he called me to the police station and asked me to find my name on the visitors’ register of the (producer’s) flat. They said that they could not find my name anywhere on the list. After spending hours in the police station, I realised that the page with my name had been torn off. I told them that I did not go to the police station to vet the register but to offer more evidence but they insisted that the register was the main evidence.
“They asked me for more information only on the eve of the day when the producer’s bail application was to come up before the court. I was given a copy of the FIR only that night. This was an obvious attempt to save the accused. The officer tried to discourage me by saying that the accused had ties with influential persons including the chief minister and there was no point filing a case against him.
“I was molested against my will. I kept silent so far out of fear. I have decided to pursue the case no matter what. No girl should suffer like I did. That is why I have opened up,” the woman said.
The producer has not responded publicly to the accusations yet.
Bail granted
Meanwhile, the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court granted anticipatory bail to Vysakh Rajan in the case. Rajan sought anticipatory bail in the case registered at Ernakulam North police station.
The court approved the accused's claim that he was not at the alleged crime spot on the day mentioned in the complaint. The accused's counsel argued that the complainant tried to blackmail the producer.
