Now Reading: Child artist Ravi Valecha recalls sexual abuse in film industry
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Child artist Ravi Valecha recalls sexual abuse in film industry
Ravi Valecha, who acted in around 300 films as a child artist in the 1970s and 1980s, has said he was sexually abused multiple times starting at age eight. He often played…
Ravi Valecha, who acted in around 300 films as a child artist in the 1970s and 1980s, has said he was sexually abused multiple times starting at age eight. He often played younger versions of Amitabh Bachchan's characters in films like Coolie, Amar Akbar Anthony and Karz.
In an interview with The Indian Express, Valecha described three incidents. The first occurred at a dubbing studio where an older man asked him to sit on his lap. The most disturbing involved a young secretary who accompanied him to shoots and would inappropriately touch him in taxis. When Valecha was 11 or 12, the same secretary abused him in a hotel room.
Valecha said he told nobody because he feared his parents would not believe him and felt there was no one to talk to. He later left acting, built a hospitality business, and sought therapy. Six months of therapy, he said, helped him confront the trauma.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Valecha's account adds to a sparse public record of abuse of child artists in Indian cinema, where protection mechanisms on sets were largely absent for decades. The Central Board of Film Certification and the Cine and TV Artistes' Association have no formal child-safety protocols that apply retrospectively. No legal action appears to have been taken by Valecha, and the statute of limitations on offences from the 1970s-80s would likely bar criminal prosecution today. The industry still lacks a mandatory reporting framework for abuse complaints involving minors on set. What remains to be seen is whether this testimony prompts any guild or regulatory body to issue a public statement or offer support structures for former child artists.
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Source: hindustantimes.com
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