press trust of indiaaccusation. Resign. Police complaint.
The words have dominated headlines since last week and rocked the busy film industry in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
The state has seen a series of sexual abuse allegations against some of its top male stars since the release of a landmark report examining issues faced by women in the industry. Posted last week.
Producing around 150 to 200 Malayalam films every year, the industry is a vital and dynamic industry that produces some of the most Critically acclaimed progressive film Rise from India.
But the 290-page report by the three-member panel, known as the Hema Committee, detailed the problems faced by women in the Malayalam film industry, including poor working conditions and rampant sexual harassment. Portions of the report have been redacted to hide the identities of survivors and alleged harassers.
Since the show’s release, many women – some of whom have now given up acting – have spoken out about the sexual assault and harassment they face in the industry.
A dozen police complaints have been filed against some of the male stars, with two of them also filing counter-complaints.
The change was so dramatic that the entire top governing body of the state’s largest film group, the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), was suspended after its chairman, superstar Mohanlal, faced “ethical issues” over some members. Disbanded after resignation.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg. So far, only a few people have spoken. There may be more serious issues to come,” actor Mala Parvathy told BBC Hindi.
Many in India’s film industry, including Bollywood, are closely watching the reaction to the unprecedented report. During the #MeToo movement, multiple women made sexual harassment accusations against actors and filmmakers in different states, but few of them were investigated.
Women in Film Collective/FacebookIn 2017, after the shocking incident, the government formed the Hema Commission, headed by a former judge of the Kerala High Court. sexual assault of heroine. Dileep, one of Kerala’s most famous actors, has been named as an accused by the police and charged with criminal conspiracy. He denied the charges but was arrested and detained for three months before being released on bail. The case is still before the courts.
After the report was released, the first public accusation came from Bengali actress Sreelekha Mitra, who accused renowned director Ranjith of sexually harassing her several years ago. He denied this but resigned as director of the state’s prestigious film academy. Mitra has lodged a police report.
Many of the other complaints echoed some of the revelations by unnamed women in the Hema commission report, that they were repeatedly asked to “compromise” and “adjust” in exchange for opportunities.
Meenu Munir told BBC Hindi and several other news channels that an actor hugged and kissed her without her consent while they were shooting a movie. She also detailed instances of sexual misconduct by others in the industry, including prominent actor and lawmaker Mukesh.
Mukesh has denied the charges against him and accused Munir of trying to blackmail him.
“I welcome any investigation into the allegations against me and others in the film industry,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
Eat babyTwo actresses accused a director of knocking on their hotel room door in the middle of the night. He has yet to respond to the charges.
An actress has accused well-known actor Siddique of raping her in 2016 and reported the incident to the police. Siddique, who resigned as AMMA secretary-general following the allegations, denied this and accused the complainant of trying to “tarnish his reputation”.
While the Kerala government was praised for taking the lead in setting up such a committee, the release of the report also put it in a difficult position.
The report, submitted in 2019, was only released last week after nearly five years of delays and multiple legal challenges from members of the film industry. The government subsequently said that while it would investigate all complaints to the police, it would not handle any cases itself. But as pressure mounted, it set up a task force to investigate complaints.
The Kerala High Court has also asked the government to submit the entire report, including 54 redacted pages, to it.
There was a mixed response to the report in the Malayalam film industry. Superstars such as Mohanlal and Mammootty have been criticized for not making public comments yet.
Some welcomed the release of the report and called on the government to launch a proper investigation into the allegations. A prominent union of film professionals has asked the government to reveal the names of defendants in the report.
Others lamented that the report was used to label all men in the industry as abusers.
But many also see the report and subsequent shakeup as positive, much-needed changes for an industry known for producing progressive films.
“I don’t agree with people saying ‘Malayalam industry is so rotten inside’. No, we are good at heart and that’s why we are going to solve this problem,” actress Parvathy Thiruvothu told the news channel that she was a founding member of the Women in Cinema Collective, an organization formed after the 2017 attacks.
She added that what people should be “worried about” are the industries “you haven’t heard of”.
Additional reporting by Meryl Sebastian in Derry
