Me too campaigner, Chinmayi Sripaada, terminated from Tamil Nadu dubbing union 

Singer, voice actor, and leading #MeToo sexual harassment campaigner, Chinmayi Sripaada has, apparently, been terminated from the Tamil Nadu dubbing union citing non-payment of the ‘subscription fees’ for the past two years.

The singer, who is on a concert tour in the US, took to Twitter to inform that her membership has been terminated without any discussion or written communication, and only a message was sent to her. 

This effectively means that she can no longer dub in Tamil films, as dubbing union membership is compulsory to work in the industry.

In a series of tweets, she mentioned that the recent film, 96 (in which she voiced for Trisha Krishnan) will be her last film as voice actor, if the termination were to continue. She went on to add that it's indeed a good film to end her Tamil dubbing career.

When CE reached out to Chinmayi to know more about the issue, she had this to say, "I don't think the union was under any sort of external pressure. The association itself wanted to axe me. I have been RTing and sharing stories with journalists on the happenings in the Dubbing Union. So, I was expecting this anyway. Historically whoever spoke of misconduct in the Union or questioned anything about its functioning have been axed. In this case, I have not been given a fair reason for my termination. Apparently, I have to pay 1.5 Lakhs, send an apology letter and then the dubbing Union will reinstate me and let me work in Tamilnadu in Tamil films. The Union has made lakhs from my Income since 2006. And I have to pay 1.5 lakhs again for my right to work. The Dubbing Union By Law says 2,500/- is the fee to become a new member. What is this random 1.5 Lakh fee + apology?"

Radharavi, President of the Tamil Nadu Dubbing Association was not available for comment, despite multiple attempts to reach him.

Chinmayi, who has been working as a voice-artist from 2006, has been at the forefront of highlighting claims of sexual harassment in the Indian music industry, in what is widely considered as India's Me Too movement. She had accused Vairamuthu of sexual harassment in a series of tweets, about a month ago. In addition, she had also highlighted claims made by other individuals against OS Thyagarajan, Raghu Dixit, Mandolin U Rajesh, playback singer Karthik, and several other Carnatic musicians.