Chennai/Kochi: Actor Charmila on Saturday levelled serious allegations of sexual harassment and rape while revealing her traumatic experiences in the Malayalam film industry. She accused producer MP Mohanan and his friends of attempting to rape her in a hotel room and director Hariharan of asking her if she was ready for 'adjustment'.
"It was in 1997, during the shoot of 'Arjunan Pillayum Anju Makkalum', that producer MP Mohanan, production manager Shanmukhan and their friends tried to gangrape me. I somehow managed to run out of the hotel room. They tried to remove my saree. They sexually harassed my assistant as well. A male assistant was assaulted. The receptionist at the hotel I was staying was also in on it. It was an autorickshaw driver who saved us. Though I escaped, they raped the junior artists working in that movie," said Charmila, who has acted in over 35 Malayalam films.
She also revealed that director Hariharan, known for classic hits 'Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha', 'Sargam' and 'Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja', asked her if she was ready for 'adjustment' (a euphemism for sex). "He asked my friend and actor Vishnu if I was ready for adjustment. Because I said no, Hariharan cut both of us from his film 'Parinayam'," said Charmila.
The actor further said she lost many films because she wasn't ready for 'adjustment'. "I have worked in four languages. Such problems mainly exist in the Malayalam industry," she added.
Charmila said she was not interested in going ahead with a complaint and that she has a son.