Parvathy Thiruvothu: Nobody has lost their career or life by not getting an award

It’s been a busy week for Malayalam actress Parvathy Thiruvothu. Her latest film Aarkkariyam released on OTT platforms last week to positive response and she has also been a major voice behind the outrage that forced the ONV Cultural Academy to reconsider their decision to honour lyricist Vairamuthu, who has been repeatedly accused of sexual harassment.

In the first segment of the two-part interview, the acclaimed actress, who has completed 15 years in the film industry this year, talks to OTTplay about the work that went behind shaping the character of Shirley in Aarkkariyam, what it takes for people in the industry to address pertinent matters and why the onus shouldn’t always fall on Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) to react to every issue.

Aarkkariyam’s director Sanu John Varughese is someone who is interested in relationship dynamics and you have loved exploring layered characters. Was that what attracted you to play Shirley?

It started with just reading the script and saying yes immediately. I had immense faith in Sanu’s sensibility in terms of how he views things. There’s a neutral space that he comes from. For him, people can be anything at any given point of time; there is no certainty to how they evolve and what they are capable of. He doesn’t put them into boxes. I got all of that by just reading the script from the absolute non-judgmental space from which he wrote these characters and the story. For those who watch the film, it’s a big shock when the twist comes and it was the same for me when I read it. Like when you watch it, Sharafudheen reacted exactly the way I did when I read the script.

Secondly, Shirley was so interesting for me because she didn’t stand out at all. She was part of that fabric in such a way that she doesn’t demand or command attention. She is there in the front row of events by just being. What helped me also is the fact that Shirley is partly an aspiring personality for me because she is someone who has gone through all kinds of difficulties in life, and she deals with it and goes forward in this no-nonsense manner. She’s like, “Okay, you know what, now I’m going to decide that my life is going to be good and I will ensure that there’s nothing to complicate it.” Shirley is also an extreme believer. She believes that if God is there, you don’t have to worry because at the end of the day it will work out. It was funny because I am the extreme opposite; I do not believe there is a God who is going to fix everything. But I found that I could relate to her even in that.

Tell us about shaping the character of Shirley.

It was interesting because if you read the script or watch the film, it’s only through how the characters are and how they react to a situation that a lot of details about them are communicated. So, there was very little I knew about her when I reached the sets; I didn’t do the kind of research that I usually do. I had a few questions answered but apart from that it’s just by being present that we built the character. I feel a lot of Shirley and Roy is based on Sanu and (wife) Sandipa, especially the dynamics between the couple. So, to an extent I also mimicked a bit of that.

You have stayed away from repeating similar characters. In the case of Shirley, you could draw parallels with Sophie from Koode in terms of what they both have gone through. Do you ever look at that while picking your roles?

I actually felt Sophie and Shirley were very different. The kind of life incidents that they faced were similar but their surroundings and everything else was different. For instance, Sophie was extremely stifled in her family apart from her father being there for her. All the odds were stacked up against her. Whereas in Shirley’s case, her father has always been there for her. She came from a space even after making terrible choices for herself. Her father also wonders why she would choose a man like Augustine. Despite being clear about so many things, we all end up choosing something toxic for us, which most of our people don’t understand why. But Shirley breaks that pattern because of her family’s support, which Sophie didn’t have. So, the way it manifests within their body was completely different.

Also, it helps that Shirley grew up watching her father being extremely strong. Whereas Sophie always saw her father sidelined and struggling to find his voice in the family. Even though in his heart he always loved Sophie and wanted to support her, there wasn’t much he could do. So, that itself manifests differently in their mindsets too.

While picking a film, do you now ensure that the movie is in line with your political and individual ideals?

What I do actually look out for is if anything stands out in the opposite direction. I don’t look for my character or the story to only align with everything I believe in because I don’t think I know enough about everything. I would like to also grow with each project and explore it further. But there has to be a basic set of values aligning to some degree. If my character is someone who does or says things, which are completely not aligned with who I am, I am fine with it. 

Also, when I read the script, there might be something that completely is not in line with what I think should be said or it glorifies something I find toxic. In that case, I actually flag it and have a discussion with the maker. If I find that they are sticking to that thought then I don’t think there’s a bridge to be built and it’s about me leaving that space.

Last week, it took an outrage for the ONV Cultural Academy to reconsider their decision of honouring Vairamuthu, who is accused of predatory behaviour. Considering the #MeToo movement, how do we as a society make this the first thought rather than waiting for an outcry to make the right decision?

I think we should listen properly and then speak. When women speak, you can come from a space of wanting to believe them. That’s one thing. Secondly, there are so many so-called “innocent doubts”; like, “Why didn’t you complain then?”, “Why are you complaining now?”, “Do you have any evidence?”, “Did you file an FIR?”, “Did you go to the court?”, “What did the lawyers say?” There are 15 million questions that a woman is asked, but the man in question is never asked even one of those. Like, “the rape is done to a woman”, but “the rape is done by a man” is never the usage even in our articles. So, that itself rewires the way you think.

So, the least you can do to show respect to the 17 women who are not connected to each other in any way, who are coming out and calling somebody out for the same act, is to actually stay back and not celebrate that person. Nobody has lost their career or life by not getting an award.

In this particular case and in most of the cases, what you will notice is that the careers of men who have been accused of rape, in recent times especially, are still thriving. It’s always the career of the person, who has come out with the issue of harassment, abuse or rape, that is wiped out. So, what does it take for people to start giving the benefit of doubt to a woman with the same conviction that they give to a man?

Also, people say that a person was guilty of theft or fraud but he paid the price and has now come back. But that’s not the same thing as sexual abuse. Here you are wiping a person’s entire existence from their own mind. They can’t be themselves anymore after a crime like that. 

So, to answer the question, it should come from a space of empathy, to want to first listen and not come up with whataboutery. The moment I speak up about things, people ask, “But you didn’t speak about this”. How about, just talk about what’s there right now?

With OTTs becoming popular, some of the actors that we have in our industry are being celebrated as the greatest in the country. But they hardly react to these issues. How do we get them to do that?

Honestly, there are two sides to it. One is if you don’t speak up for anything related to the industry, you are complicit in that. But a lot of people can’t afford to do that because the structure is such that they would either get muzzled or would lose their jobs. It’s not a black and white situation. However, there are people who can very well take that risk and in them speaking up, a lot of things can forever change. But they don’t do that. Those are the kind of people who are extremely complicit in continuing an oppressive structure.

But celebrities aren’t the final word to speaking up about everything. I find it extremely disheartening when Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) or I speak up about something, they say, “But you didn’t speak about this, that and the other incident.” But why does the onus fall only on us? It’s not only WCC’s job; the collective will continue to speak up and fight the cause, but everybody has the responsibility to do that in their own way. Let’s say, you shut down a locker room talk, you shut down a sexist joke, you shut down a conversation which is filled with whataboutery - these are little things that you can do, which adds to the bigger ocean of change. So, unless you do that, this pointing fingers at celebrities and saying, “Oh, you didn’t react to that”, is pointless.

I feel we are all very much capable of reacting to inequality and oppression in a space where we ourselves are contributing. It’s my workspace and it’s my responsibility to keep it clean. That much I can take on.

In the second part of the interview, Parvathy gets candid about how she views criticism, her career so far and her upcoming films.