Popular south Indian actress Bhavana, who was abducted and sexually assaulted by a group of men in 2017 while she was travelling from Thrissur to Kochi, finally broke her five-year silence. In a recent interview, the actress declared that she would give a strong fight without thinking about the outcome. ''My Whole life was turned upside down. It was constant chaos in my mind, I was constantly asking myself why me, one time I used to think that it's a long nightmare was constantly blaming myself. There were so many times, I desperately wanted to go back to the time before it happened so that I could change everything and my life will be normal again,'' she said. The investigation of the sensational case led to Dileep, one of Malayalam industry’s biggest actors, being named as an accused.

In the interview, the actress said she felt lonely despite the strong support extended to her by her husband, family and friends. She also recalled the traumatic period when she was in the courtroom for 15 days in 2020 and had to prove that she was innocent as she was continuously quizzed by lawyers. She also shared about how the perpetrators were insulting her on social media and the denial of acting jobs in the Malayalam film industry. She also added that she was devastated and wanted to get her dignity back.

It was earlier this year, Bhavana had shared an Instagram post, revealing her identity as the “survivor” of the sexual attack and speaking up about the toll the incident took on her. "This has not been an easy journey. The journey from being a victim to becoming a survivor. For 5 years now, my name and my identity have been suppressed under the weight of the assault inflicted on me. Though I am not the one who has committed the crime, there have been many attempts to humiliate, silence and isolate me. But at such times I have had some who stepped forward to keep my voice alive," she wrote on Instagram.

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A post shared by Bhavana Menon ????‍♀️ (@bhavzmenon)

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A post shared by Bhavana Menon ????‍♀️ (@bhavzmenon)