Singer Chinmayi Sripada recently made headlines with her soulful rendition of ‘Muththa Mazhai’ at the audio launch event of Kamal Haasan’s ‘Thug Life’. The original track, sung by Dhee, was performed on stage by Chinmayi in her absence, and it went viral, with people discussing why Kollywood had not explored the singer’s potential. The online fan debate brought her shadow ban in the industry back into the spotlight.Chinmayi has now opened up about the emotional struggles she faced during the ban and her fight against leading names in the industry.Chinmayi about her ban in the industryIn an interview with ABP Live Tamil, Chinmayi spoke about the functioning of dubbing unions in Kollywood at the time. She criticised the dubbing union for mandating a compulsory 10% cut from its members without providing any work-related support. She claimed that the union enforces this rule arbitrarily, and when questioned about the finances, it presents inflated and inaccurate expense reports to the government.“If the association had collected just from the salaries of Rajinikanth, Ajith Kumar, Thalapathy Vijay, and Kamal Haasan, they could’ve run something like Nithyananda’s Kailasa here. I’m not saying this as a joke. Everyone runs things as they wish. They claim the dubbing union spends on struggling artistes. I haven’t seen it happen,” she said.Emotional struggles and societal pressureChinmayi opened up about feeling hurt during the ban and revealed that she had second thoughts about her revelation regarding the MeToo movement. “I can’t say I didn’t feel hurt thinking, ‘Did this happen just because I told the truth?’ But at the same time, I knew this would happen if I spoke out. My heart is filled with pain and sorrow. In these past six or seven years, when there was a situation where no one even wanted to talk about Chinmayi, there were people who stood by me. All this praise, recognition, and backlash — they come and go. I’ve started forgetting all of it. Whatever comes my way hereafter, I dedicate it to God,” she stated.
Viral responses for ‘Muththa Mazhai’ Chinmayi admitted that after ‘Muththa Mazhai’ went viral, she was anxious, thinking something bad would happen. “I just sang a song, that’s all. But it turned into a problem for me — I was filled with anxiety, wondering if even this would become an issue. I wasn’t even in a position to accept the praise. I cried in countless temples. I would cry in front of the sanctum sanctorum, and then walk outside pretending to be a brave woman. There were four people who stood by me — no matter how much I thank them, it will never be enough,” she added.The state award-winning singer also spoke about facing social stigma while living in a rented house, where even the landlords’ own relatives questioned why they were renting to someone like her and pressured them to make her leave. However, the house owners stood by her, expressing pride in supporting her and refusing to yield to the criticism. She admitted that she spoke out publicly without fully considering the consequences she might face.She admitted to cursing God as people would often say, “God will make everything better.” She even questioned the existence of God during that phase of her life. “When I was 20, I even threw the deity’s photo out onto the road. I would fight with my mother, too. She was the one I would cry to — that’s how it was.”Chinmayi on her works post 2018Chinmayi explained that although she was banned in October 2018, songs featuring her voice continued to be released afterward, such as in the 2019 film Sarvam Thaala Mayam. She clarified that this particular film had been completed four years earlier and that she had recorded the song while lyricist Na. Muthukumar was still alive. Similarly, many other songs released post-ban were actually recorded much earlier. The COVID-19 pandemic had delayed the release of several films, causing them to come out together later — which created the false impression that she was still being actively engaged in the industry after the ban.
