Silence on #MeToo in Southern film industry shocks actor Siddharth

Mumbai: In the midst of a controversy surrounding actor Radha Ravi's derogatory remarks against actress Nayanthara, actor Siddharth has said he was shocked to see how the southern film fraternity was either silent or cynical about the #MeToo movement in the country.

"I was shocked that my entire fraternity was either silent or cynical about the #MeToo movement. I silently rued the fact that it would take only the anger of a powerful woman to make the sleeping wake up. If you speak up only when your own are affected, it's not called bravery," Siddharth tweeted on Sunday night.

His comment came a day after Radha Ravi, who is known for his insensitive digs, passed a remark on Nayanthara at the trailer launch of her upcoming Tamil film "Kolayuthir Kaalam."

Siddharth initially posted some tweets which he later deleted, and then wrote: "My last tweets fail to communicate what I feel clearly, owing to me needing more words to clarify them. I am deleting them out of respect to women and survivors. There is no need for muddled statements from men like me at this stage."

The #MeToo movement in India started last year after actress Tanushree Dutta in September recalled an unpleasant episode with veteran actor Nana Patekar on the sets of "Horn 'OK' Pleassss" in 2008.