Mumbai: Tamil film director, Sami has been banned from directing films for a year after slapping actress Padmapriya on the sets of his new film Mirugam in Madurai recently.

In his defence, Sami said he raised his hand on the actress in order to bring out the best in her, when she was unable to get a particular scene right.

Understandably, this incident has raised questions about verbal and physical abuse on film sets. Bollywood directors admit filmmaking is a stressful job, and often directors can succumb to the pressures involved, but they insist that actors are never intentionally victimised.

Says director Rahul Rawail, "There is no victimisation that happens on the part of the director. The film becoms the director's responsibility and as a result, while trying to explain the shot, the director sometimes loses his temper."

Adds director Vikram Bhatt, "There is a lot of pressure on the director always, with the producer breathing down his neck. There is pressure of not meeting schedules, of performances, of the film, but then life is about pressure. I think anger is an illness. In US, he would be sent to council group for anger management treatment."

Not surprisingly, actors say there can be no excuse whatsoever for physical abuse. Many believe that an eye for an eye is the best way to react.

Says actor Celina Jaitley, "I would slap the person back, whoever the person may be. You know, women are the softer target." Incidents involving physical and verbal abuse are hardly new to Bollywood.

Only recently, the tabloids were full of stories about Pooja Bhatt who slapped actor Muzammil Ibrahim on the sets of her film Dhoka when he refused to follow her directions.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra has been accused of biting the hand of actress Neha while filming Kareeb, because she wouldn't follow his instructions correctly.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali has been described as a tyrant by both his actors and his crew. Sonam Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor, the stars of Saawariya were both verbally abused when the director ran out of patience teaching them how to perform scenes.

While working as an assistant on Black, on more than one occasion Bhansali punished Ranbir Kapoor by making him stand with his finger on his lips outside the set.

Assistant directors have been pushed and shoved by Bhansali, and he has smashed several of their mobile phones on the ground when they didn't follow orders.

Even actor Nana Patekar is believed to have tormented actor Anil Kapoor while they were starring together in N Chandra's Wajood.

As a result, Anil Kapoor walked out of the film midway through its making and was replaced by Mukul Dev.