“Many people changed their statements in court, many things have been done to topple the case. But I’m optimistic that I will get justice,” said actor Bhavana Menon, who survived abduction and sexual assault in 2017, in an exclusive interview with The News Minute.
On February 17, 2017, Menon, who predominantly works in Malayalam and Kannada cinema, was abducted and sexually assaulted by a gang of men in a moving car en route to Kochi from Thrissur. Actor Dileep is under trial as the chief conspirator behind the assault.
In the recent interview with TNM, Menon said that she was thankful to the people who came together and held an event in Kochi in support of her after the incident. However, many of them soon changed their stand.
“Those who said they would tell the truth, went back on it,” she added. “Every morning, I can’t wake up and think about who will support me and who will not. These are individual choices they make. I did not give the complaint thinking that the entire industry will stand with me.”
It may be noted that several actors and witnesses in the case, such as Bindu Panicker, Idavela Babu, Bhama, and Siddique, turned hostile during the trial.
Menon, when she recently appeared in a live video interview and publicly spoke about her assault and its repercussions for the first time, revealed that she was largely shunned by the Malayalam film industry after she chose to fight for justice. She also noted that some of her friends in the industry, such as Ashiq Abu, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Jinu Abraham, Bhadran, Shaji Kailas and Jayasurya, had offered her work, but she was not in the right frame of mind to return and pretend like nothing had happened.
She expanded on this during her interview with TNM, and recalled several instances of her colleagues and friends offering their support and requesting her to not stay away from Malayalam cinema. “Prithviraj, director Jinu Abraham and Shaji Kailas approached me for a project they were doing jointly. Actor Baburaj came to my place in Bengaluru and told me to come out of this shell. Anoop Menon even offered to shoot his movie in Bengaluru so I could be a part of it,” she said.
“Ashiq Abu offered me two projects and told me that I need to come back to Malayalam cinema. Actor Nandu constantly asked me why I was keeping away, and so did director Jean Paul Lal. Director Bhadran and Hariharan told me that they had a female-oriented script for me and exhorted me quite a bit to take it up. Actor Jayasurya was shooting in Thrissur once, I remember it was my birthday. He came to my house with a cake and tried to inspire me to accept a movie. Filmmaker Vijay Babu also called once for a project. Actor Madhu Pal has been telling me for three months that there is a story I should read,” she added.
Menon revealed that she has now accepted a Malayalam film offer, the details of which will be announced shortly.
The actor also spoke about how vital her female friendships with her peers, such as Geethu Mohandas, Samyuktha Varma, Manju Warrier, Remya Nambeesan, Sayonara Philip, Mridula Murali, Shilpa Bala, Shafna, are to her and said that she speaks to them regularly.
She expressed her gratitude to the Women in Cinema Collective for their unwavering support. “It has also been painful to see that many of these women have lost opportunities and been at the receiving end because they pledged their support to me,” she said, naming Anjali Menon, Deedi Damodaran, Miya, Navya Nair, Parvathy, Padmapriya, Rima, Anumol, Kavitha Nair, Krishnaprabha, Arya Badai and Kani Kusruthi among those who stood by her.
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Menon also emphasised the importance of support systems for survivors and mentioned that it would have been simply unimaginable for her to put up a fight without the support of her husband, family, friends, and colleagues.
On deciding to break the silence and reveal her identity after almost five years, the actor said she made the choice after witnessing the huge support that poured in for her recently after the case gained momentum again following filmmaker Balachandra Kumar’s allegations against the accused late last year. “From December onwards, there was so much support and love from people, and I decided that it was important to tell everyone how thankful I am. That is the reason I put up that Instagram post, as my response to all the support,” she said, adding that her recent video interview was not planned either.