Malayalam
actress
Swetha
Menon,
who
had
accused
senior
Congress
MP
Peethambara
Kurup
for
allegedly
groping
her
at
a
public
function
in
Kollam,
Kerala,
says
she
was
not
pressurised
to
withdraw
her
complaint.
She
also
claims
that
it
wasn't
a
publicity
stunt.
"No,
it
was
on
humanitarian
grounds
that
I
withdrew
my
case.
I
didn't
succumb
to
any
pressure.
I
gave
dignity
to
his
age
by
withdrawing
the
complaint," she
said.
"It
was
never
my
intention
to
create
any
controversy.
I
only
wanted
what
had
happened
to
me
to
come
out
in
the
public
domain,"
added
the
actress
who
had
allowed
her
child's
delivery
to
be
captured
live
for
Blessy's
film
Kalimannu.
On
Nov
2,
she
showed
visuals
from
TV
channels,
where
the
lawmaker
was
shown
getting
close
to
her
during
the
boat
race.
In
an
email
to
the
media
on
Sunday,
she
said
she
was
not
interested
in
pursuing
her
complaint
and
was
not
going
ahead
with
any
legal
steps
in
the
wake
of
repeated
apologies
by
Kurup,
which
has
been
accepted.
Excerpts:
Q:
Swetha,
what
happened?
A:
Well,
by
now
what
happened
is
public
knowledge.
I've
spoken
about
the
nightmarish
experience
I
had.
It
isn't
easy
for
a
girl
to
come
out
with
something
like
this.
But
I
had
to
expose
the
misdeed.
So
many
girls
go
through
this
and
make
the
mistake
of
not
talking
about
it.
I
was
going
to
file
a
formal
police
case
and
meet
the
chief
minister.
Q:
But
then
why
did
you
decide
to
withdraw
your
complaint?
A:
(Sighs
deeply)
He
is
a
72-year-old
man
who
admitted
his
mistake.
My
husband,
my
spiritual
Guruji
and
my
father
convinced
me
to
accept
the
apology.
Actually,
my
father,
who
is
80
years
old,
made
up
my
mind
for
me.
He
pointed
out
to
me
that
at
that
age
it
is
very
difficult
for
a
man
to
own
up
to
his
mistake
and
even
more
difficult
for
him
to
apologise
for
his
mistake
publicly.
But
he
(Peethambara)
did
it.
Q:
It's
being
said
you
were
pressurized
to
withdraw
your
complaint?
A:
(Vehemently)
Not
true
at
all.
There
was
no
pressure
from
any
quarters.
And
you've
known
me
for
years.
Do
you
think
I'd
give
in
to
pressure
of
any
kind?
No,
it
was
on
humanitarian
grounds
that
I
withdrew
my
case.
I
didn't
succumb
to
any
pressure.
I
gave
dignity
to
his
age
by
withdrawing
the
complaint.
Q:
It
is
also
said
that
the
controversy
was
created
for
publicity?
A:
I
never
did
anything
for
publicity
in
Bollywood.
Why
would
I
do
it
in
South
where
I
am
doing
well
for
myself?
It
was
never
my
intention
to
create
any
controversy.
I
only
wanted
what
had
happened
to
me
to
come
out
in
the
public
domain.
Q:
Do
you
think
you
might
have
misunderstood
or
misconstrued
the
guy's
intentions?
A:
If
you
were
a
woman,
you'd
never
ask
this
question.
A
girl
knows
exactly
when
she
is
touched
in
the
wrong
way.
And
there
was
definitely
something
not
quite
right
about
the
whole
thing.
It
is
easy
for
someone
outside
to
imagine
that
there
might
be
a
misunderstanding.
But
a
girl
who
goes
through
this
knows
what
the
other
person's
intention
is.
Q:
Bollywood
was
never
fair
to
you
in
spite
of
good
performances
in
Mahesh
Manjrekar's
Praan
Jaye
Par
Shaan
Na
Jaaye
and
Bandhan.
You've
come
a
long
way.
A:
Yes,
it's
been
a
long
journey.
But
no
regrets.
I
enjoyed
my
stint
in
Bollywood.
Then
I
started
getting
offers
in
Malayalam
cinema.
And
here
I
am.
You
never
know
what
life
has
in
store
for
you.