Parvathy is one of the popular actors in the Malayalam film industry who is popular all over the nation for the movie she did. Now, the actress is a part of Women in Collective Cinema, an initiation by female artists in the Malayalam film industry. The actress now had issued a public statement on the allegations made by a female filmmaker Vidhu Vincent. Vidhu Vincent alleged that Parvathy did not respond to her film's offer properly. Parvathy mentioned a detailed note on social media, regarding the same. The following is her clarification on the issue.
In Vidhu’s letter to WCC, she says she had sent me the screenplay of her film and waited for six months. She alleges that I did not respond to her offer at any point. I would like to clarify the sequence of events. In May 2018, my work for My Story and Koode was being completed but I was fatigued by the long ensuing hate campaigns and threats that were being made against me at that time. I was advised to take a break from work for a few months ceasing work communications. I recommenced work with Uyare in November. In December, at a WCC meeting, Vidhu mentioned that I had been unresponsive to her casting offer. When I was asked about this matter, I distinctly remember messaging Vidhu with profuse apologies explaining that I had been away and not known anything about her project. She clarified that she had tried to contact me on Whatsapp; I requested her to resend the message. She did and it was a single message with a short one-paragraph synopsis of the film dated May 30, 2018. I apologised again and asked her if she would still consider me for the role. She was keen so we agreed to meet on the sets of Uyare. As a professional practice, I discourage script narrations on sets but I suggested this only because I did not want to delay her in any manner. Meanwhile, as I was feeling bad about this, I wrote to everyone, including Vidhu, revealing sensitive details about how deeply I was impacted by the harsh personal attacks and online hate. This was the first time I had shared such intimate details about myself in full trust and hope that they would understand my health condition. I specified that I was making immediate amends for unintentional lapses that may have occurred on my part during that period.
Soon Vidhu and her writer came to the sets of Uyare and narrated the script in full detail. I heard them and reflected on it but told them politely that the script did not work for me. When she persisted, I also informed her that there were time constraints as well considering my prior commitments to the next two projects in line. Knowing her need to start filming soon, I informed her that it did not look practical as it would be difficult to find the time for me to prepare for the role of a stand-up comedian. Since she was insistent that I give it another thought, so I agreed to revert with a final decision within ten days. As agreed, in the next few days I made a phone call and informed her that I would not be able to do the project. She shared that she understands my decision and updated me on the developments on the project when I enquired. As we hung up, we wished each other well. From the sets of Uyare, I proceeded to the shoot of Virus and then Varthamanam and the dubbing of Uyare until the end of March. During this intense work period, I was surprised when Vidhu sent me a screenplay draft by e-mail even though I had clearly said no to the project. Within about 30-40 days, the poster of “Stand Up” released with Nimisha Sajayan’s photograph on it. I was thrilled to see that such a powerful performer was going to portray that role.
I know that Vidhu’s journey to make “Stand up” has been a tough one. I would never cancel out her pain, her journey, and her struggles in any way.
