Slapgate mishandled by Aindrita: director

Ravichandran says actress should not have taken complaints against Nagathihalli to the media

Ravichandran says actress should not have taken complaints against Nagathihalli to the media

Director and actor Ravichandran has made known his displeasure over actress Aindrita Ray going on prime time TV earlier this month with the now-famous slapgate story, in which she had accused director Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar of harassing her and hitting her on the sets of a film being shot in Macau.

Action and reaction: Aindrita tells her story to a TV crew from her doorstep on December 10

Ravichandran was talking to the media about his current film Hoo (Flower) on its sets a couple of days ago when he was asked about star tantrums on film sets, and he cited the slap controversy and went on to blame Aindrita for devaluing the Kannada film industry with her reaction.

"Aindrita lowered the value of the industry by the way she went before the media, and then later going for a compromise at the Film Chamber. In this industry we consider everyone as a family member, but there might be a valid reason why director Nagathihalli's patience could not stand it any longer," said Ravichandran.u00a0 "If my assistant directors go to complaint against me for the same reason, there will be an issue everyday. But we treat them as members of a family."

Director-actor Ravichandran

He was of the opinion that it was wrong of Aindrita to take a family matter to the world. "If she wanted an apology from Nagathihalli, she could have discussed it with the artist association and the chamber," said Ravichandran. "It clearly shows her immaturity and now that she has shown the way, can anyone henceforth slap anybody and apologise at the chamber?"

Casino craze

Aindrita was slapped on the sets of Nooru Janmaku in Macau. The film crew says Aindrita used to go casinos at midnight and was usually late arriving on the sets.

They claimed it was such behaviour on her part that made Nagathihalli lose his patience and slap her; also, he used to make calls to her cell phone before she went to bed to see if everything was all right.

Aindrita dismissed the latest objection to her behaviour by Ravichandran.

"I don't want to go into what Ravichandran is blaming me for," said Aindrita. "The media only came to my house when they came to know about the issue, but I really had called to Rockline Venkatesh and the chamber before going to address the media."

Aindrita's answer

She claimed Nagathihalli was not keeping his end of the bargain. "After he apologised to me at the chamber, Nagathihalli at a press meet broke the rule set by the chamber, which restricted both of us from commenting to the media on the issue, and I have never said a word about it to the media till now," said Aindrita.u00a0 "He also didn't call me to the press meet held with all the male cast and crew, and these male artists and technicians are in his favour."

She also dismissed the casino-frequenting charges.

"It is none of their business to question my presence at casinos, and anyway it was not the reason at all for what happened," said Aindrita. "Nagathihalli likes to be recognized as a champion of female liberation but he should first learn to respect women. As they are all men, they are all against me."

When Ravichandran was accused of rape

Ravichandaran himself has had his share of controversy involving an actress some years ago. Bindiya, who played a role opposite Ravichandran in Hallimaestru (Village Teacher) in the early 90s, had filed a case of rape against the actoru00a0u00a0 went to court. Finally, it ended when Bindiya apologised to Ravichandran.