Singer and dubbing artiste Chinmayi Sripaada submitted her nomination to contest for the post of president in the upcoming elections for the South Indian Cine Television Artists and Dubbing Artistes Union on Thursday morning.
Ms. Sripaada initially faced stiff resistance from several members of the union, who created a ruckus at the union building premises where she had gone to submit her nomination. “There was a lot of yelling and questions raised as to why I was there. Their contention was that I should not be at the premises because I was banned and hence, not a member,” she said.
Ms. Sripaada however stated that the Madras High Court had given an interim injunction which clearly says that she is still a member of the Union until final orders are passed. “I still have every right that a member does and this includes visiting the dubbing union building as well as contesting in the elections,” she said, speaking to The Hindu.
A life-member of the union, Ms. Chinmayi had been removed from the union by its then president Radha Ravi on the grounds that she had allegedly violated a by-law of the union. Her removal in November 2018 had coincided with her being in the forefront of the #MeToo movement in Tamil Nadu and she had then said that there was no prior intimation from the union about the action taken against her.
For contesting the elections, she has been joined by several other members of the dubbing union who have gone through similar issues in the past. “These members too have raised questions in the past about the functioning of the union and have had action taken against them including being banned,” she said. The faction is contesting under the name of ‘Ramarajyam’- which is the name of the first full length Tamil dubbed film released in 1947.
Financial mismanagement is one of the issues which Ms. Chinmayi said needs to be addressed within the union. The members who have submitted nominations will know in a few days if their nominations have been accepted after scrutiny.
