Actor Sandhya Mridul posted videos on her Instagram slamming beauty salons that discriminated against her mother’s house help. The actor revealed that more than one salon turned away the domestic worker who wanted a haircut despite the actor’s mother ‘pleading’ with them. Sandhya also made a follow-up video, stating that she will address the situation in person once she’s back at her mother’s place.
Sandhya Mridul questions prejudice against house help
Sandhya revealed in her Instagram video that her mother took their house help to the salon in their building for a haircut, but the house help refused. When another salon they went to also refused, her mom fought with them, but also requested and pleaded with them, even agreeing to pay more. But they still turned her down. Sandhya states that the house help felt bad after the ordeal. One salon finally agreed to cut her hair, and they went out for lunch afterwards.
“She was sad. I can’t even imagine the feeling. What day and age are we living in that we are still behaving like this? And there are buildings where they say, oh, help can’t come into this, I mean. Kaun ho yaar tum itne entitled logon? Kya bakwaas hai yaar? (Who are these people feeling so entitled? What is this nonsense?) This is really hurtful,” said Sandhya.
She also added, “And you know something, we can’t just blame these salons and the people guarding the lift. It’s us, many of us, who are asking for this. Who are saying, please don’t allow these people into salons, please don’t allow these people into elevators. I really think it’s time for some of us s**tty people who are doing this to change.”
Explains why she didn’t name the salons
Sandhya did not name the salons in her video. “I’m not naming the salon because it’s a private salon in the building where my mother lives, and I want to protect her privacy,” she explained in her caption, adding, “Also, naming the salon is not the purpose of this post. The issue is much larger than one establishment. It’s the mindset. That’s what we need to change.”
She also wrote in her caption, “Our domestic staff are not invisible. They care for our homes, our families, and often become family themselves. Watching a young girl be turned away from a salon simply because of who she was left me deeply saddened. She’s just a young kid in her 20’s who was excited about a haircut. And we ruined it for her.”
In a follow-up video, Sandhya thanked those who showed her support and clarified that, despite her addressing the house help as a ‘girl’, she was 26. The actor stated that it was a term of endearment, not an indication that she was underage. Sandhya also stated that she would ensure the situation at the salon changes once she got home. The actor also called for a change in the way delivery agents and others are treated.
Sandhya last starred in Sudha Kongara’s Parasakthi this year, in which she played Indira Gandhi. Sivakarthikeyan, Sreeleela and Ravi Mohan were her co-stars in it.