Along with Rahul Ramakrishna, these Indian actors were sexually abused during childhood
Popular Telugu actor Rahul Ramakrishna who shot to fame with his terrific portrayal as Shiva in ‘Arjun Reddy’ took to Twitter on Tuesday and revealed that he had been raped in childhood. However, he did not name his assaulter. In a series of tweets, the 29-year-old actor wrote “I was raped during childhood. I don’t know what else to say about my grief, except for this, because this is what I seek to know about myself.” Starting off the post as “Everything hurts”; he said “I live with the crime perpetrated upon me. There is never justice. Only momentary relief! Teach your men to be nice. Be brave and break societal conditioning. Be nice.”
After working as a journalist in multiple mediums, Rahul Ramakrishna plunged into the entertainment arena and tried his hands in various jobs like songwriter, screenwriter and a presenter for a TV cooking show. After grabbing several eyeballs with a matured performance in Tharun Bhascker’s short film Sainma, Rahul made his silver screen debut with Jayammu Nischayammu Raa and made it big with a string of superhits like Sammohanam, Chi La Sow, Geetha Govindam, Hushaaru, Brochevarevarura and the recent Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo.
Akshay Kumar recollects the horrific incident when he was molested at 6
In 2017, Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar attended a seminar on women’s safety and recounted a personal experience that had a lasting impact on him. The 52-year-old actor said “When I was six, I was on my way to a neighbour’s house when the lift man touched my butt. I was really agitated and told my father (Hari Om Bhatia) about it. He filed a police complaint. Investigations revealed that the lift-man was a history-sheeter. The cops took action and the man was arrested. I was a shy kid and relieved that I could speak about this to my parents. But even today, I find it difficult to say the word ‘bum’”. Akshay insisted that women and children need to be encouraged to speak up and tell their families if they encounter anything strange so that they can be protected and empowered.
Sonam Kapoor reveals that she was molested in childhood
In 2016, Sonam Kapoor took part in the Bollywood actress’ roundtable which featured female stars like Alia Bhatt, Anushka Sharma, Vidya Balan and Radhika Apte. While addressing the issue of child sexual abuse, Sonam narrated the ordeal she faced when she was 13 years old. She said “I know I have been molested when I was younger and it was very traumatising. I didn't speak about it for two years or three years. I remember the incident so clearly. As I walked into the movie theatre with my girl gang, a man came from behind and just held my breasts. Obviously I didn’t have breasts at that time, but I started shaking and shivering, I didn’t know what was going on. I started crying right there and I didn’t speak about it. I just sat there and finished watching the film. I felt like I had done something wrong, for the longest time.”
Kalki Koechlin: I was sexually abused at the age of nine
In 2015, Bollywood actress Kalki Koechlin took to Facebook and opened up about going through sexual abuse at the age of nine. The 36-year-old actress has always stood up for women empowerment and sensitive issues that many stars do not like to take up. She said “The reason I spoke out about my sexual abuse is not to get people to feel sorry for me but to give others who have had similar circumstances the confidence to talk about it. I allowed someone to have sex with me at the age of nine, not understanding fully what it meant and my biggest fear after was that my mother would find out.
I felt it was my mistake and so I kept it hidden for years. If I had had the confidence or awareness to confide in my parents it would have saved me years of complexes about my own sexuality. It’s important that parents remove the taboo around the word sex or private parts so kids can speak openly and be saved from potential abuse”.
Sofia Hayat was sexually abused by her uncle at the age of 10
In 2013, British bombshell Sofia Hayat revealed that she was raped by her uncle when she was 10. She mentioned this sad truth to co-contestant Armaan during her stay in the Bigg Boss house. Despite hailing from a poor family, Sophia worked her way to the top and became a popular model, actress and singer. She has a good stint on both Indian and British Television.