In a bizarre incident, an award winning actress Padmapriya was slapped on the sets of a Tamil film titled Mirugam by its director, Samy in front of the entire unit.

A furious Padmapriya has filed a compliant against the director with the actors' association, Nadigar Sangam. Taking recognizance of this, the association has banned further shooting of the film. It has also banned the director from directing any film for a period of one year.

In the joint meeting, Samy publically apologised to Padmapriya, but the meeting rejected it and resolved to ban him for a period of one year.

As the incident occurred in the full view of the public and crew, Samy could not deny the incident. So, he had the cheekiness to come on television and say that Padmapriya was a bad actress and that she could not get the right expression despite trying for several days. And it was out of frustration that he slapped her.

Tall claim indeed! Padmapriya won this year's Kerala [Images] state award for her touching performance as a beggar in Kamal's Karutha Pakshikal. She was the actress chosen by one of the choosiest directors in India, Adoor Gopalakrishnan when he decided to make films on the four faces of women. She is the heroine of one of the stories in his film Naalu Pennungal (four women); the other actresses in the films are Nandita Das, Kavya Madhavan, Geetu Mohandas and Manju Pillai.

She was also the heroine of Cheran's much acclaimed Thavamai Thavamirundu. Her recent film Sathum Podathey directed by Vasanth is still running in the theatres, where her fiery performance as the victim of an abusive husband has been widely appreciated.

The incident has sent shock waves all over because a leading artiste, that too a woman has been physically abused on a film set. And then the abuser shows the audacity to justify the dirty act.

Padmapriya, an MBA, was a risk consultant for General Electric before she joined modelling and then the film industry. Her debut film Seenu Vasanthi Lakshmi in Telugu was followed by an offbeat Kazhcha by Blessey, where she plays Mammootty's wife.

Today, she is considered one of the finest talents in the south Indian film industry. For any role that requires depth and maturity, serious filmmakers from both Malayalam and Tamil think of her.

Earlier in an interview the actress said, "I do miss being there sitting in front of the computer for up to 17 hours a day. I also love being a part of the film industry."

Now after this ugly incident, does she still feels the same way?