Actor Parvathy Thiruvothu has opened up about several disturbing encounters from her childhood and teenage years, describing how repeated harassment by unknown men shaped her understanding of safety, fear and womanhood. Speaking on The Male Feminist podcast, the acclaimed performer reflected on the long-lasting psychological impact of these experiences and why she chooses to speak about them now.

Parvathy said she shares these memories not to seek sympathy but to highlight how common such violations are for women. She spoke calmly but firmly, recounting moments she once struggled to process–episodes she says stayed with her for years. 

Early encounters of harassment

In one of the earliest incidents she recalled, Parvathy said she had been standing with her parents at a railway station when a man approached her unexpectedly. She remembered being very young, unaware of what was happening around her.

“Someone hit me on the chest and walked away. It wasn’t even like a touch – it was like a slap! I was a child at that time, and I remember being in pain.”

She said the physical pain faded, but the shock and fear lingered. According to her, these moments became silent burdens that many girls learn to carry from a young age.

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Parvathy also reflected on how her mother, aware of the risks women face, would constantly caution her while walking in public. She described growing up in an environment where safety lessons overshadowed freedom. “Think about a situation where a mother has to teach her daughter like this,” she said.

The actor also said she witnessed men exposing themselves in public places when she was a child–incidents she did not understand at the time but recognised later as deeply damaging.

“Also flashing! The number of times I have turned around and seen a guy with his mundu up… showing his thing. I had no idea what was happening at that time. It is only much later when you go back and see that our bodies have been impacted by these experiences.”

Understanding sexuality through film and trauma

Parvathy shared that her early understanding of love and intimacy came from cinema, particularly the film Titanic.

“My first understanding of sexuality came from the film ‘Titanic’. That kissing scene. … I had a purple Titanic T-shirt with Jack and Rose on it. I liked Jack a lot… Before going to sleep, I used to kiss that T-shirt.”

But she added that her deeper awareness of sexuality actually came from “very bad experiences”, saying that many girls learn these things first through pain rather than healthy conversations. “If you ask whether all girls go through such experiences, the answer is yes,” she said.

Assaults in adolescence and lack of justice

The actor described further incidents from her teenage years, including being pinched in autos, harassed by strangers and assaulted by someone she had a crush on at the age of 17.

“The physical touch from someone who was not from my family was an assault. It was from someone I knew.”

She explained how young girls are often manipulated emotionally and led to believe that unwanted physical contact is acceptable within the context of affection. “He did not know what consent was.”

Another traumatic moment came when she was around 19 or 20 years old. Parvathy said a man attempted to press himself against her inside a lift. She confronted him after stepping out, slapping him and asking, “What did you do?”

Although security and police arrived, she recalled that the lack of CCTV evidence meant the case went nowhere. She said officers advised her to let the matter go. “That was when I understood what justice means in this country.”

The man later apologised to her, claiming he was about to leave for a job in the Gulf and was soon to be married. Parvathy said she found it troubling that her act of self-defence was praised by some, noting: “Having to protect yourself is not something great.”

Constant vigilance and the burden on women

Parvathy addressed the wider reality of women’s everyday lives, saying men rarely grasp the constant alertness women are forced to maintain.

She described how women routinely adjust their clothes, monitor their surroundings and anticipate danger—behaviours that become second nature.

The actor said therapy has played a crucial role in helping her understand her trauma and reclaim her relationship with her own body.

Career and upcoming work

Parvathy, a National Award-winning actor celebrated for performances in ‘Take Off’, ‘Uyare’, ‘Charlie’, ‘Maryan’ and ‘Bangalore Days’, continues to be recognised for her powerful portrayals of women on screen.

She is set to star in ‘The Storm’, the first project from Hrithik Roshan’s HRX Films for Prime Video. Directed by Ajitpal Singh and written by Singh, Francois Lunel and Swati Das, the Mumbai-set thriller will also feature Alaya F, Srishti Shrivastava, Rrama Sharma and Saba Azad.