10-07-2005, 07:04 AM
Furore over Indian actressâ pre-marital sex comment
CHENNAI: Comments on premarital sex and virginity by film star Khushboo has sparked a furore in conservative south India, prompting protests and lawsuits amid claims she has cast a slur on Tamil women.
Protestors say Khushbooâs remarks to a weekly magazine that âno educated man would expect his (bride) to be a virgin,â reflects on the chastity of Tamil women while those taking her to court say she has defamed women in general.
The Tamil Protection Movement, meanwhile, says that since Khushboo is a Muslim - like most actresses in south Indian cinema a non-Tamil - she must return to her native Mumbai, Indiaâs financial capital in western Maharashtra state.
Political parties in the Tamil Nadu have also joined the fray, with the Dalit Panthers of India (DPI), representing people discriminated by caste, accusing her of âdenigratingâ Tamil women and âencouraging them to be immoralâ.
Film stars in Tamil Nadu hold great sway, with several having led the state, including current Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha. Panther activists stormed the office of the South Indian Film Artistes Association with broomsticks and slippers - traditionally used in protests - to demand an apology from the star, the Press Trust of India (PTI) said Thursday. It added that the association has left Khushboo to fend for herself even as the Pantherâs chief Tol Thirumavalavan ratcheted up tensions Wednesday, declaring her remarks âagainst public orderâ.
Other political groups such as the Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), have joined the protests, PTI said.
Separately, five women advocates have filed a petition in a magistrateâs court seeking action against the actress under two sections of the Indian Penal Code which deal with defamation, it said. afp
<img src='http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/images/7_10_2005_Khushboo.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
CHENNAI: Comments on premarital sex and virginity by film star Khushboo has sparked a furore in conservative south India, prompting protests and lawsuits amid claims she has cast a slur on Tamil women.
Protestors say Khushbooâs remarks to a weekly magazine that âno educated man would expect his (bride) to be a virgin,â reflects on the chastity of Tamil women while those taking her to court say she has defamed women in general.
The Tamil Protection Movement, meanwhile, says that since Khushboo is a Muslim - like most actresses in south Indian cinema a non-Tamil - she must return to her native Mumbai, Indiaâs financial capital in western Maharashtra state.
Political parties in the Tamil Nadu have also joined the fray, with the Dalit Panthers of India (DPI), representing people discriminated by caste, accusing her of âdenigratingâ Tamil women and âencouraging them to be immoralâ.
Film stars in Tamil Nadu hold great sway, with several having led the state, including current Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha. Panther activists stormed the office of the South Indian Film Artistes Association with broomsticks and slippers - traditionally used in protests - to demand an apology from the star, the Press Trust of India (PTI) said Thursday. It added that the association has left Khushboo to fend for herself even as the Pantherâs chief Tol Thirumavalavan ratcheted up tensions Wednesday, declaring her remarks âagainst public orderâ.
Other political groups such as the Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), have joined the protests, PTI said.
Separately, five women advocates have filed a petition in a magistrateâs court seeking action against the actress under two sections of the Indian Penal Code which deal with defamation, it said. afp
<img src='http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/images/7_10_2005_Khushboo.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />