Khushbu Sundar, a South Indian superstar and politician, is a prominent figure in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, and Kannada cinema. She has now openly revealed that she too had to face instances of sexual harassment during the early days of her acting career. Khushbu made this disclosure while speaking at the “Women’s Safety in Cinema” session during the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2024 held in Goa.

Speaking about the prevalence of harassment, Khushbu emphasised that it is not limited to the film industry but is a widespread issue faced by women everywhere. She urged women to respond immediately to any such situations. 

"Women face challenges not just in the film industry but everywhere. You face them while travelling in a shared auto, local train, or even on a flight. It’s everywhere, not just in the film industry. But women should speak up whenever they feel someone’s mistreating them.” She stressed the importance of speaking out without second thoughts, “Speak up then and there; don’t think about your career and troubles," said Khushbu.

She recounted an incident during her early days from a lead actor, “A hero once asked me, ‘will you give me a chance without anyone noticing?’ I immediately took my chappal and said, I wear a size 41. Do you want to be slapped here or in front of the unit? I didn’t think about the fact that I was a newcomer, what would happen to my career? I just knew my respect was more important to me than anything. You need to respect yourself first, only then will someone else respect you."

The panel also included Imtiaz Ali, Bhumi Pednekar, Suhasini Maniratnam, and Vani Tripathi Tikoo.