I'm a Communist, am ready to face consequences of expressing my opinions, says actor Oviya

CHENNAI: Back in the public eye, and on the screens of many desperate folks, after a 17-second sex tape allegedly featuring her, actor Oviya issued a detailed statement. But it was not the statement that we expected from an actor who is caught in a crisis, that too a sleazy one, but one who had something more to say to the society.

In the note in Tamil, the Kerala-born actor, who made a name after being a contestant in the first season of popular reality show Bigg Boss Tamil, talks about inequalities and discriminations that have come to become normalised in the society.

She is political, so are her views, and is ready to face the consequences of the opinions that she expresses, said Oviya, who had faced a case in 2021 after the Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP filed a complaint against her for comments allegedly defaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Also Read: Next time bro: Oviya trolls social media users taunting her over alleged sex tape

Here is the edited version of Oviya’s open letter to fans and society:

I am expressing my views on society not as an actress but as a fellow citizen of the country. These views may cause discomfort for many people, and I am ready to face the consequences of expressing them.

I and many people like me realise the political developments very late. But instead of wondering if there is anything we can do, I believe we should raise our voices.

Such is the situation that it is not safe to leave the house, and the freedom of others is threatened in the name of culture. Young children are being sexually abused. It is scary to live in such an unsafe society. Culture is how we live with each other as humans and perceive others as fellow beings. We live in a free India [but] threats to my views make it feel like an insecure India.

If I, who is in the media spotlight, receive so many threats, what about the ordinary woman who has not yet started living her life? This thought makes me want to speak more.

I am a Communist.

I am not a member of any party. But I like the Communist ideology of treating everyone as equal. I prefer to call myself a Communist. Everything that is created here is created by humans, for humans. Hence, there is no point in shunning people and preserving only the culture.

[Though all are] equal as nature's creation, we have been facing and allowing various forms of discriminations since childhood. Ever since my childhood, I have wondered if the system of awarding marks in schools is discriminatory.

Although I was born in Kerala, when the time comes for me to get involved in politics, it will definitely start in Tamil Nadu.

---Oviya