Telugu actress Sri Reddy, who recently made the headlines after she stripped in front of Hyderabad’s Telugu Chamber of Commerce building, the headquarters of the Movie Artistes’ Association (MAA), is no longer banned by the association. According to an IANS report, MAA lifted the ban against her on Thursday, also announcing that they would set up a committee in three months to look into sexual harassment charges.
It has been reported that various women’s rights activists and organisations supported the actress for drawing attention towards the widely practised casting couch in the industry. On Thursday, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) reportedly took suo motu cognizance of the media reports about the allegations.
Sri Reddy has been vocal about casting couch in the Telugu movie industry and has accused various producers and directors of sexual misconduct. She was denied a membership to MAA despite having acted in three films, and the association had further tried preventing any actors from working with her.
Soon after the NHRC got involved, MAA’s president, Sivaji Raja, said that they had no grudge against the struggling actress but since her allegations hurt the artistes, it was decided to impose the ban. He has now said that all 900 members of MAA are now free to work with her.
Meanwhile, another actress from the industry has alleged similar cases of casting couch in the industry. According to The Times of India, actress Maadhavi Latha, who has starred in movies such as Snehituda and Aravind 2, has urged women in the industry to bring to her notice about sexual harassment cases, promising a meeting organised soon.
In a Facebook post, Maadhavi wrote about how she will fight against casting couch.
Feature Image: The Indian Express
