Singer Chinmayi Sripaada has opened up about the emotional weight and personal fear she carried while dubbing for actress Trisha Krishnan's character Preethi in the Tamil film 'Karuppu' — a role that has since earned her widespread praise. In a candid post on X, Chinmayi admitted she had been genuinely afraid to publicly acknowledge her involvement in the project.

What Chinmayi Said

Writing on her official X account, Chinmayi stated: 'Strange I am readying myself saying this... I was genuinely afraid this time, of sharing that I dubbed in Karuppu.'

She explained that her hesitation stemmed from a desire to protect the film's director, R J Balaji, and his wife, Divya Nagarajan, from the kind of backlash the team of 'Leo' had faced when she had previously dubbed for Trisha in that film. 'I have known R J Balaji a long time — he and his wife are such lovely people and RJB himself is someone whose entire life is such a story of grit, determination and a man working so, very hard to make his dreams come true,' she wrote.

Emotional Triggers on Set

Chinmayi also revealed that certain scenes in 'Karuppu' served as deeply personal triggers, connecting to her own lived experiences. 'I remember crying buckets dubbing a couple of scenes in the film — it was a massive trigger, almost like I saw everything play out from the past, on the big screen,' she said in her post.

The Ban and Its Background

Chinmayi was expelled from the Tamil Dubbing Union in 2018 after she publicly spoke out against sexual harassment in the Tamil film industry during the #MeToo movement. The ban effectively shut her out of work in her home industry for years.

Despite the ban, filmmaker Lokesh Kanagaraj and producer Lalit Kumar had invited her to dub for Trisha in 'Leo', a decision that drew both attention and controversy at the time. Her involvement in 'Karuppu' marks another instance of filmmakers choosing to work with her notwithstanding the union's restrictions.

A Plea to Be Unbanned

Concluding her post, Chinmayi expressed gratitude to R J Balaji for the opportunity and voiced hope that the film's success would help restore her ability to work freely in Tamil cinema. 'I hope Karuppu saami will help me work in my home ground, without fear and work without having to be scared of what will happen next. May God help Unban me and the others who have been banned from working, for years. #KaruppuBlockbuster,' she wrote.

The post has resonated widely, reigniting debate around the Tamil Dubbing Union's ban and its impact on artists who spoke out during the #MeToo movement. Whether 'Karuppu''s box-office performance translates into a formal reversal of her ban remains to be seen.