Tamil actor Jiiva found himself at the centre of controversy following a heated exchange with journalists over the recently-released Hema Committee Report. The incident, which took place during in Tamil Nadu’s Theni, saw Jiiva visibly agitated as he avoided questions related to the report. Soon after the video of his altercation with a reporter went viral on social media, singer Chinmayi Sripada weighed in on the situation, taking a jab at the Yatra 2 actor.
Jiiva loses his cool at journalist
In the video, Jiiva can be heard asking the media to maintain a positive atmosphere during his visit. “We’ve come here for a good event, so let’s say good things. I’ve come to Theni after a long time. I’m coming here after shooting for a movie called Thenavattu. A lot of things are happening in a lot of industries. Your job is to gather news. Our job is to maintain a good atmosphere. As actors, we bring a smile to many people’s faces, and we have come here for that reason,” Jiiva is heard saying in the video.
When Jiiva was asked if sexual harassment is a problem in Tamil film industry, he denied it, saying it doesn’t happen in Kollywood. He said, “I’ve already answered this before, I can’t keep answering the same question.”
உனக்கு அறிவு இருக்கா? செய்தியாளரிடம் எகிறிட்டு வந்த ஜீவா… கேள்வி கேட்டா பதில் சொல்ல மாட்டாராம்… உச்சக்கட்ட தெனாவட்டு நடத்தை!#Jiiva #ActorJiiva #Kollywoodcinema #TamilCineama #HemacommitteeReport #Mollywood #Mohanlal #NewsTamil24x7 pic.twitter.com/QeB5xKmfLY
— News Tamil 24×7 (@NewsTamilTV24x7) September 1, 2024
According to media reports, he then questioned whether the journalist who asked the question had any sense. His comment led to a heated argument, with other journalists confronting Jiiva about his response.
Chinmayi Sripada reacts to Jiiva’s video
The video went viral within no time and several social media users slammed the actor for his behaviour. Chinmayi, who is quite vocal about the issues women face while working in films, took to her official X account to react to Jiiva’s video.
“I really do not understand how they are saying sexual harassment does not exist in Tamil Industry. HOW?” she asked.
I really do not understand how they are saying sexual harassment does not exist in Tamil Industry.
HOW?! https://t.co/sm9qReErs0
— Chinmayi Sripaada (@Chinmayi) September 1, 2024
The Justice Hema Committee report was released by the Kerala government on August 19, 2024. It was established in response to the 2017 actress assault case in the Malayalam cinema. Ever since the report released, several Malayalam actress came forward to share horrific and shocking experiences of sexual misconduct.
On August 27, veteran actor Mohanlal resigned as President of Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, amid the findings of the Justice Hema Committee and the numerous sexual misconduct allegations against some of Mollywood’s biggest names, including actor Siddique and filmmaker Ranjith Balakrishnan. Along with him, all the members of the executive committee submitted their joint resignations.
