AR Reihana, AR Rahman’s sister, said that she believes Chinmayi’s accusation against Vairamuthu, and said that this was an open secret in the Industry.
Reihana spoke about #MeToo in Kollywood, in an interview with a Tamil channel. She said, “I support this #MeToo movement. Earlier when Suchi leaked the videos, I thought how bold she is; she outed many famous persons. But when I saw Sri Reddy come out, I felt pity for her. Why did she accept all those things? Despite which, coming out publicly and revealing the names is good. Exploiting women has now become a social taboo.”
Saying that she believes Chinmayi’s allegation against Vairamuthu, she added “The only problem is, it has happened 15 years ago. She should have spoke about it back then and made sure he did not repeat those actions. I believe her because this is not the only incident. Two people I know have spoken about him.”
Reihana also said “I don’t think that she (Chinmayi) does it for fame because I have heard about him from many. It is definitely an open secret in the industry. The only thing which is disturbing is she spoke about it this late. Rahman has asked me whether it is true, because he is totally against the gossip and he is totally unaware of such things prevailing in the industry.”
She further added, “He has now became an identity for Tamil; he should have been stopped from doing it (Sexual harassment) long before. I say this generally, to all. While Chinmayi has mentioned many names, why are we only focusing on Vairamuthu, talk about everyone, focus on them too, so that this can be abolished.”
“I cannot accept Chinmayi saying she did not have the courage to bring the issue to light earlier. Her mother is brave enough to fight, she even fought with me, said that I used Chinmayi’s name to gather people for my concert. They are not people who are scared of the powerful and famous.”
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Talking about the complaints against the event organizers, she said “It is purely nonsense. Those organizers are really sweet and they are more like my own brothers. They have even called their families for our events and such. They will treat us like their own family and they will never do such things.”
Talking about the rumors of AR Rahman denying opportunities for Chinmayi, she said, “Usually Rahman will not give opportunities to people caught in controversies. On this issue, I don’t know, since we don’t decide things jointly. Everyone will have different ideas and opinions.”
Reihana spoke about her experience of unnecessary sexual advances and said, “I have not exactly faced harassment, but I have received love messages from a person. I blocked him so he couldn’t reach me and this will never grow into something else.”
“Who ever it is, when you don’t like it, then say ‘No’ and stand by it,” she concluded.