Photo: ANI
Actor Rima Kallingal sued Tamil singer Suchitra for defamation after the singer made comments about Rima and Aashiq Abu during an interview on a YouTube channel, alleging that the actor threw rave parties where drugs were served.
"Although these wild theories did not make it into the mainstream news, her baseless statement about me based on a news article she read about my arrest gained traction. Let me make it clear that such an event never occurred. I have decided to take action.,” Rima Kallingal stated in a social media post on Tuesday, the New Indian Express reported.
“I have filed a complaint with the Special Investigation Team and sent a defamation notice," the post further read.
The singer has also come under fire from Rima, a founder member of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), for identifying and shaming the survivor during the interview.
"In the 30-minute interview, she not only names and shames the survivor of the 2017 sexual assault, claiming the survivor knew it was coming but also alleges that CM Pinarayi, Mohanlal, and Mammootty conspired through the Hema Committee to sabotage the careers of actors like Fahadh. We all know why the Hema committee was formed, and anyone suggesting otherwise should be questioned," she wrote.
In an interview with SS Buzz, Tamil singer Suchitra levelled allegations against Rima and her husband, filmmaker Aashiq Abu. Suchitra accused the actress and her spouse of frequently throwing drug-related parties at her house.
She further claimed that these events served as a venue for the introduction of drugs to many young women. The singer went on to say that the parties were a major factor in the actress's career decline.
According to Suchitra, she found out about these accusations from various news articles, and other Malayalam artists who were there at these events corroborated her charges. Nevertheless, the claims have not been officially verified.