TAMIL NADU, Sept 3 — Indian actor and film producer Jiiva has come under fire for insisting that sexual harassment does not happen in the Tamil film industry.

The 40-year lost his cool during a media event when asked about alleged sexual abuse in Tamil industry while dodging questions about the Hema Committee Report.

The Justice Hema Committee established by the Kerala government after a case of assault on an actress in 2017, reported on workplace harassment, gender-based discrimination, and other forms of exploitation of women in the Malayalam film industry.

“I’ve already replied to this, I can’t keep replying again and again”, said Jiiva before asking the journalist who raised the question, if they had sense.

Jiiva's response did not go down well with journalists Tamil Nadu's Theni, which saw the actor in a resulting scuffle with a journalist in attendance, reported India Today.

“I heard about it too. It’s wrong,” Jiiva had replied when he was asked about the Hema Committee Report.

“We had #MeToo part 1 and now part 2 has come. Now, people are openly naming them [abusers]. It’s wrong. We should have a healthy atmosphere in cinema.”

When pushed for more, he said : “We’ve come here for a good event, so let’s say good things. I’ve come to Theni after a long time.

“I’m coming here after shooting for a movie called Thenavattu. A lot of things are happening in a lot of industries,"

He then took a shot at the media saying, “Your job is to gather news. Our job is to maintain a good atmosphere. As actors, we bring a smile to many people’s faces, and we have come here for that reason.”