Actress and Tamil Bigg Boss contestant Oviya was summoned by the Nazarathpet Police in Chennai in connection with the allegations that she had attempted suicide on the show, The Hindu reported on Saturday.
The complaint was filed by an advocate who had alleged that Oviya had attempted suicide by trying to drown herself in a pool inside the Bigg Boss house in one of the episodes. He accused the show’s producers, veteran actor Kamal Haasan and Vijay TV, of forcing her to take the extreme step knowing that she was suffering from depression.
“We have recorded the complaint in the Community Social Register,” Inspector Jaichandran, Nazarathpeth police told The Hindu. “We spoke to Oviya’s personal secretary who has denied that she attempted suicide.”
On August 5, the 26-year-old model and actress had exited the show that airs on Vijay TV and is hosted by Haasan. She had said that she was leaving the show as she was undergoing mental stress, and could not deal with her feelings for a fellow contestant.
Oviya had emerged as one of the most popular contestants for her spirited defence against attacks by other contestants. Her online fanbase is known as the “Oviya Army”.
The Tamil Bigg Boss has courted controversy right from the beginning. A public interest litigation filed in the Madras High Court demanded that the show be banned because “the dress code and behaviour of female contestants” were obscene. Other criticisms hurled at the show include casteist slurs and the denigration of Tamil culture.
The Tamil version follows in the footsteps of the original British show and iterations in Hindi and Telugu. Fifteen men and women have been locked inside a house since June 25 and are constantly being filmed by cameras.
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