Malayalam Actor Parvathy Files Complaint Against Online Abusers

Actor Parvathy files a police complaint against few social media users who hurled abuses and sexual threats at her.

Ever since popular Malayalam actor Parvathy called out Mammootty’s film Kasaba for its sexist dialogues, a vitriolic cyber attack was unleashed on the actor, known for her performances in many acclaimed movies like Take Off.

Two weeks since Parvathy made the statements that seem to have polarised the Malayalam film industry, the actor decided that she will not take the abuse lying down. Parvathy has filed a police complaint against a few users on social media who hurled abuses and sexual threats at her.

Parvathy filed the complaint with DGP Loknath Behera, the cyber cell and the CMO.

Confirming the news to TNM, an official at Cyber Cell said that they were in the process of tracking a few accounts that abused the actor and one that even sent rape threats.

“We are monitoring 4-5 accounts on Twitter and other platforms. Most of them are fake accounts, that’s what people resort to for abusing people on social media. We have requested Twitter to provide us the details of these accounts. As and when we receive the information, it will be forwarded to Ernakulam South police station, where the case is filed.”

Cyber Cell Officials

Though the comments were made two weeks ago, Parvathy's social media accounts are still getting hate messages and threats. Many videos mocking her and making derogatory comments are still being widely shared on social media. On the consistent cyber abuse she has been facing for the last few days, Parvathy told TNM that trolls cannot get to her.

From death threats to rape threats, Parvathy saw vitriolic abuse come her way.

“Death and rape threats were there, and so was work intimidation. Many of them threatened me saying I will go out of work for what I had said. They said my career would be finished.”

Parvathy, Actor

"You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise. Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? ’Cause I walk like I've got oil wells Pumping in my living room. Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I'll rise. Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops, Weakened by my soulful cries? Does my haughtiness offend you? Don't you take it awful hard ’Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines Diggin’ in my own backyard. You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I’ll rise. Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise That I dance like I've got diamonds At the meeting of my thighs? Out of the huts of history’s shame I rise Up from a past that’s rooted in pain I rise I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide. Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear I rise Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise I rise I rise." -Maya Angelou

A post shared by Parvathy (@par_vathy) on Dec 16, 2017 at 5:37am PST

Although the trolls believe that they have the clout to intimidate her, they actually don't possess that power, Parvathy said.

"They think they have the power, but they don't. This abuse is not just on me, but also to those people who are close to me. They want my friend's work to be affected by this attack, but in reality, it is not affecting us. This is not affecting me. These are all noises," she said.

Asked about the culture of normalising social media abuse, Parvathy said, "Definitely there is a culture of playing it down.”

“We are told to ignore it, pretend as if we haven’t seen it. We are asked to lie low until the abuse subsides. That’s what we have been doing for years. Do we wait for these abuses to be a reality? How many of us are going to be sacrificed before we take this seriously? Before we decide to react?”

Parvathy, Actor

"The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion" -Camus

A post shared by Parvathy (@par_vathy) on Dec 13, 2017 at 10:36pm PST

She added, "We can't and should not control those on social media. But people need to differentiate between what is abuse and what is not. At least a few who have crossed that line and sent sexual threats against women have to be held accountable."