India’s Border Security Force soldiers conduct route march at a residential area ahead of the general elections in Kolkata.

Nirmala Joseph

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu principal opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Monday suspended actor Radha Ravi for his derogatory comments against Nayanthara, the only lady superstar the south has ever seen.

DMK chief M K Stalin admonished Ravi, asserting that the party will not tolerate verbal rape of women.

A statement signed by DMK general secretary K Anbazhagan said Ravi has been suspended from the primary membership of the party and divested of other responsible positions for going against the party’s ethos and bringing a bad name to it.

Ravi made his comments against the reigning superstar at the audio release of her latest film ‘Kolaiyuthir Kaalam.’ The actor was not present at the event.

Ravi referred to the actor with contempt, going on to say she plays the mythological character Sita as well as a ghost. He said producers used to call actresses like K R Vijaya for Sita’s role because her face would bring reverence. “Here is a Sita actor seeing whom people would call her to the bedroom,” he said.

The social media reacted with massive fury.

Nadigar Sangam general secretary and Tamil Film Producers Council president Vishal has come down heavily on Ravi. In a tweet, Vishal asked the veteran actor to call himself just Ravi since ‘Radha’ is a woman’s name and his misogynist comments don’t go with his name.

Singer Chinmayi and many other women have accused Radha Ravi of sexual harassment, but no action has been taken against him so far.

Nayanthara remains at the top and fans have built temples for her.

Ravi is the son of screen villain MR Radha, who was accused of shooting at late chief minister and filmy hero MGR.

Ravi’s sister Radhika is an actor and is married to actor Sarath Kumar.

Stalin strongly condemned Ravi’s speech in a tweet and warned his party cadres and leaders against speaking ill of women. He said the actor’s statements about an actor was unacceptable for the DMK, which gives importance to women’s rights.

He urged his party members to express their thoughts in a responsible way and warned of action against those who cross the limits.