The bizarre controversy over singer Suchithra Karthik’s Twitter account seems to show no sign of ending. Last night, nude photos and videos of a popular Tamil actress were leaked through the account. The person handling the account has also announced that he/she would “leak” intimate photos and videos of other Kollywood stars, and claimed it was part of a crusade against the alleged practice of ‘sex for roles’ prevalent in the Tamil cinema industry.
Social media continues to celebrate the Tweeter’s actions; and is seemingly waiting with bated breath for the next set of photos. Meanwhile, Suchithra when contacted by Silverscreen, agreed to a telephonic interview. She later backed out.
In another interview with Deccan Chronicle, Suchithra said: “I’ve really had enough. This is the work of someone who’s had a grudge against me for over a decade now, and they want to kick me when I’m down. They actually went as far ahead as hiring a company in Chennai to hack! Thankfully, I have a private cyber-investigator on my side who’s helped me out. But these series of systematically-planned attacks have gotten on my nerves. Ask anyone in the industry if I’m actually capable of posting such crazy things? But I got no support from the industry also.”
Suchithra’s claims seem real, bolstered in part by the language the troll uses in the tweets. According to a few close friends of the singer, there is a definite disparity in the way Suchi writes and the way the tweets from Suchi’s twitter account are phrased.
“Suchi won an award for the best short story, when she joined Radio Mirchi. Her English is flawless. But the tweets that come from her account are those of a person not very confident with the English language,” the friend told Silverscreen.
That said, no one seems to be confident in their stand that it cannot be Suchithra. Her estranged husband, Karthik Kumar, addressed the issue when it first started last month through his account:
Suchis activity on twitter has no factual basis guys. The issue is different & personal. Pls extend understanding and let be for the while.
— Karthik Kumar (@evamkarthik) February 23, 2017
He followed this with the claim that Suchi’s account had been hacked, and that the tweets were not her work.
— Karthik Kumar (@evamkarthik) February 24, 2017
Recently, Karthik Kumar released a video in which he alluded to Suchi’s ’emotional state’ and apologised for her actions.
Singer Chinmayi, a frequent target of the person handling Suchitra’s Twitter account, also has the same opinion. Through a series of tweets, Chinmayi said:
Rahul and I spoke to Karthik Kumar, when the issue first started and we understood immediately when he told us she was unwell.
— Chinmayi Sripaada (@Chinmayi) March 3, 2017
An emotional meltdown can happen to anyone. And Karthik Kumar put out a video on FB yesterday thanking people for the support.
— Chinmayi Sripaada (@Chinmayi) March 3, 2017
Let us be honest, a LOT of us have gone through major stresses, or our family members have. We dont talk about it. Thats all.
— Chinmayi Sripaada (@Chinmayi) March 3, 2017
However, whatever is going on in her account right now, (she blocked me ages ago for reasons best known to her) is WRONG! Effing wrong.
— Chinmayi Sripaada (@Chinmayi) March 3, 2017
Nonetheless, my conscience is clear and have nothing to be afraid of.
I ll choose to be the better person. #karma.— Chinmayi Sripaada (@Chinmayi) March 3, 2017
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
The tweets in Suchi’s account range from personal attacks on well-known celebrities to disturbing ones about being threatened. One tweet even goes on to allegedly describe an instance where Suchi was date-raped by two celebrities. Another tweet, released two hours later, uses the same story to incriminate two different celebrities.
The screenshots of two emails were also released through the account. In one, actress Andrea Jeremiah writes to Geethanjali Selvaraghavan about a short film – Ghost, while in another Selvaraghavan chastises Andrea about her attempts to ‘influence’ him. The account details shown in the screenshots and the writing style seem real.
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It also extends itself to slut-shaming actresses by outing their alleged attempts to secure roles by offering sexual favours. The public delights in such accounts, true or not. And so, public support for the account is at an all-time high.
The main target of the Suchi account, however, is actor Dhanush. The person handling it has repeatedly threatened to release ‘intimate’ videos of the actor with his female co-stars. And has accused him of adultery, among other things.
Dhanush’s spokesperson, Vinod, has denied all these claims. “The photos are morphed. The allegations are baseless and completely untrue. We informed Karthik when the tweets started coming up, and he told us that it was hacked. It is our understanding that Suchithra seems to be going through some sort of an emotional breakdown. We ask everybody to respect our privacy.”
Interestingly, while Suchitra continues to deny claims that she is behind the tweets and the allegations of mental illness, everybody else seems inclined to believe otherwise.
Ma (mother in law ) I don’t care about anything but I respect her husband’s request that she is mentally affected. I love making films.over. https://t.co/gTTgKRfA6N
— selvaraghavan (@selvaraghavan) March 3, 2017
This hacking, sharing ‘draft’ mails between two individuals, sharing vulgar photos is disgusting. Someone has gone crazy. Hope it stops??
— Dhananjayan Govind (@Dhananjayang) March 3, 2017
The singer, meanwhile, has announced that she will be travelling to Paris to take a Cordon Bleu course.
The Twitter account, on the other hand, has not yet been deleted, despite several complaints. As #SuchiLeaks keeps trending, some wonder if this is the work of the TN Govenment trying to steer public reaction away from the Neduvaasal protests.
As things stand, nobody has the answers. Atleast, the right ones.