Thiagarajan Gets Caught In MeToo!

Pretika Menon complained about “ Thiagarajan Thiagarajan was born on 21st June 1945 in Chennai, >> Read More... ,” who was last seen in Chekka Chivantha Vaanam Click to look into! >> Read More... as Chinnappa Doss. The actor is a producer, director and an entrepreneur too. Pretika Menon, the photography expert, complained Thiagarajan for harassing her. She posted her bad experience with Thiagarajan on her Facebook and here is her post: “Guys, I need to share more stories with you. Just so you know of the systematic bullying and harassment women are subject to in the work place. In 2010 I was 21 and looking for work in Chennai right after photography school. A photographer recommended me for a project that he couldn't be there for. I was to shoot for a coffee table book, behind the scene documentation of a movie project - Ponnar Shankar starring Prashanth and directed by his father Thyagarajan. The location was in the outskirts of coimbatore, in the middle of nowhere that the film team had built a fake Fort. The scene had at least 200 - 300 men and I could see that there were only 3 women - 2 lead actresses and 1 cook / helper. The main crew and I were staying in a lodge near by. My shoot required me to follow the scenes of a battle for a week and document the process and crew along with the sets and sequences. On my first day Prashanth met me and introduced me to his father, the director. They were both extremely nice to me and treated me as a part of the main crew. Thyagarajan took a liking to me and started asking me questions about myself, my family, what I thought about things, what I liked to photograph. Since I was there to shoot I answered politely and moved away. He would find me during a food break and invite me to eat with the main crew and I thought it was really nice of him to do that. Over the next couple of days Thyagarajan would keep finding me on set and urging me to be near him, he started to tell me about his Thai masseuse girls and how wonderful they were. He insinuate that he was sleeping with them. I asked him if his wife didn't mind.. And he told me that his wife and daughter had no clue. Then I asked him if he'd be okay if they had similar experiences. Thyagarajan said that if his wife or daughter ever did something like that he would kill them himself. I was worried to be around someone like that, especially since I really just talk my mind without giving two shits. So I tried distancing myself but he kept finding me and forcing me to be around him. I would give excuses that I had to shoot the scene from another angle and leave his line of vision. Every meal I was forced to sit next to him, and he started to ask if I would get into acting, telling me I shouldn't bother with photography, that I could make a real career in acting and earn a lot of money. "I'll make you the next Aishwarya Rai" when that didn't work and I told him I liked being behind the lens, he changed his tactic and asked "what if your friend asks you for 2 lakhs, 10 lakhs - where would you go for the money? If you're an actor you will have that kind of money at your disposal" I politely declined and tried to wiggle away from him ever chance I got. At one point he even used the info I told him of myself to point out what he thought were flaws in my character - I assume to throw me off balance and make himself feel powerful. For a sequence in the film he convinced me that he needed my help and got me to play a small role (just my feet) running for a few minutes barefoot on a hill. I supposed he thought I'd be enthralled and excited. The rest of the crew and cast were incredibly polite and respectful to me. One time I found a different spot to eat lunch along with some of the cast of soldiers from the set. That evening he called me aside and told me not to eat with "those chumchas" since they were nothing. This was a man who clearly thought he was on top of the food chain and looked down upon people below him. That evening (day 3) I started to catch a cold and he told me that he never allows a sick person on his set as I may spread it. When I asked him if I should leave he left me alone. At dinner he found me and told me to meet him and take medicine and brandy with hot water from him. I politely refused but he again told me he didn't want me to spread my sickness. After dinner I went to my room and locked myself in, without meeting him. I was really glad to have avoided him cause there was no way in hell I was accepting any drugs from him nor having a drink around him. At 12 am I heard a knock on my door and I freaked the fuck out. There was nothing separating the monster from me other than a plywood door, and I was in the middle of nowhere surrounded by I think 300 or more men, men who all slaved over him and did his every command. I called a friend and told him of the knock, and what had been happening. My friend told me to keep talking to him and not to open the door. I spoke in a loud voice to my friend, as if nothing happened, hoping to let whomever was behind the door know that I was chatting with someone on the outside. I heard a knock on my door twice after that, once at 2 am and once at 4 am. I was scared for my life and my body. My friend stayed on call with me throughout, I refused to sleep that night until 6am when I drifted to sleep till 8 am when breakfast would start and we had to be on set. I went for breakfast as usual (hadn't figured out what to do yet) and he found me and made me eat with his crew. Then in front of them he asked me why I hadn't opened the door for him, that he had come 3 times with medicine and brandy for my cold. I told him I would not open the door for anybody and why should I, that I didn't need his medicine or brandy, that I was fine without it. Then I walked away to the set. A few hours later he found me near his crew and near Prashanth and said loudly "Prashanth, we made a mistake with this girl. We thought she was a big shot photographer but she doesn't know anything. She's a useless photographer " I walked to Prashanth and told him I couldn't deal with this, that I wanted to leave. He said sure, he would organize a car to take me back to Chennai. Thiyagaraj heard our conversation and told Prashanth to take the images I shot from me or else I would go sell it to a magazine. I remember a rush of anger at that moment and stating that I had more class than that and if they wanted the images they had better pay me for it right there. And so I got kicked off the set for not sleeping with the director, but with my body and mind intact. They never paid me or answered my calls and I never gave them the images. #metoo” What will be Thiagarajan’s reply? Let us wait and watch!