Amid #MeToo Wave, Malayalam Actor's "Groomed Me As Sex Slave" Charge Against Director

Actor Sowmya, fighting to keep her emotions in check, told NDTV she had been "groomed" by the man who claimed her as his daughter, and whose own daughter had left, accusing him of rape.

The flood of sexual assault and rape allegations roiling the Malayalam film industry has found echoes in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, after popular actor Sowmya accused a Tamil director of horrific mental, physical, and sexual assault - including the insertion of a rod into her genitals as "entertainment".

In an emotional but powerful interview with NDTV she spoke about being "groomed as a sex slave" by the director, whose identity she has chosen to withhold at this time. Sowmya said the man - who approached her, she said, with his wife and when she was 18 years old - inflicted mental torture by claiming her as his "daughter" and declaring he wanted a child with her.

She said she would reveal the man's identity to the special police team formed by the Kerala government, which is investigating multiple cases of alleged sexual assault in Mollywood.