Gauri Lakshmi is familiar to Malayalis. The actor is also active on social media. Almost every woman I know has gone through something like this. Someone must have approached them with such demands. Sad to say, this is very normal in the industry, says Gauri. After that, the actor shares his experience. I am a very young person. He entered the film industry at the age of fourteen. There have been incidents and approaches like this in the early days. I am also with under age that day. It comes under POCSO. This is the age when we don’t even know what it is. We are getting to know the people we used to admire so much. There will be music directors, singers and big stars. “We talk to them and think we can learn something,” says Gauri.
A person started treating me very lovingly. I used to see him as a godfather. Then slowly the conversation turned to sexual favors. At first I didn’t understand what it was. Then slowly I reduced that connection. We get that lesson when we come to the industry. The same music director later called me to sing. But Gauri says I didn’t go. It’s a very open secret. But it seems to be changing with the coming of youth. People who approached me were 20-25 years older than me. That too in the early days, when I was very junior and had no connections or fame. Now I feel that I am in a more privileged and safe space, says the actor. I feel like there are circles in the music world too. It seems that by pleasing some people and getting in their good books, they get a steady stream of work.