Three State awards, one national award, a Silver Peacock and several awards instituted by film bodies and channels, all won for the best actress by Parvathy. Yet, since 2016, the 30-year-old has got just one film, Virus . In 2016, the candid and articulate actress came under attack from trolls and fan clubs after she mentioned that perhaps veterans like Mammootty should stay away from misogynistic films like Kasaba . She was participating in a panel discussion held on the sidelines of the International Film Festival of Kerala. In 2017, Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) was formed in May in the wake of the sexual assault of a leading heroine in South India and a leading actor of Mollywood was accused of being involved in the case. While the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (A.M.M.A.) paid lip service to support the survivor, it was clear to all where their sympathies lay. Recently, the WCC recently held a meeting in Kochi where they highlighted the double standards of A.M.M.A. One of the spokespersons was Parvathy.
In an interview over phone from Mumbai, where she is one of the jury persons of the MAMI film fete, Parvathy talks candidly, about the costs of speaking up, the games that is played off screen by members of A.M.M.A and how the patriarchal world of Malayalam cinema, desperately trying to cling on to the shreds of an old regime, is so out of step with reality.
Edited excerpts from the interview
Parvathy ko gussa kyon aati hai?
I am not angry. I am upset.
You are very brave to take on the so-called super novas in Malayalam cinema?
Are they so? That is the question.
That is what many seem to think...
There has been a misunderstanding and this idea of idolisation that has gone out of control. Everyone here involved in the profession [cinema] are people. All these actors are brilliant actors. We respect their talent, their skills and their years of experience. Nobody in WCC has discounted that. However, there is another position some of them hold when they are running an association. When that person is sitting in the position and not showing up for that work, not being responsible, not giving answers even after waiting for a long time.... then there is a problem. That is the same thing we do with our government. If an MP or MLA does not do his/her job, we criticise them. We are not taking on anyone.
There is no taking on of any of the super stars. We have no beef with anybody who fits into that definition. Good for them! But do the job you have taken on. The general secretary could be anybody, the president could be anyone and we would have the same questions for them!
Do you feel that offers in Malayalam cinema have dried up as a result of these questions?
The movies that I have now lined up, two or three Malayalam films, came way before these issues came up. One movie that came up after that is Aashiq Abu’s Virus . But that does not surprise me. Aashiq is a liberal. Everything else I have now is what I signed before Kasaba (2016). I am not kidding when I say that it is ok if that is how it is going to pan out. But I am not going to keep quiet about it because there have been so many actresses in the past decades who suddenly vanished, never know why. If I am going to be phased out by whatever powers, then I want people to know that it is not because I am bad at my work.
And it is the same thing that I would say to myself during all these casting couch situations; there is a decision you take to say no! Either you say no and lose the project or say yes, and you get harassed. So, you say no to that. In the same way, you can apply the same theory [in the present situation]. If you stand up for the right thing, you might lose the job. So my question to myself was ‘are you ready to find another job and my answer is ok’. I can’t seem to be ok with the current situation.
I have been here for 13 years, done some good work. I can expand to other industries or start a shop, a pub. I think it is important to know that we are taking the brunt of this battle and we are waging a battle for everyone. It is not for us.
What am I, Rima [Kallingal] or Remya [Nambeesan] getting out of it? It is bizarre when people say it is for publicity. I have done four or five films that are super duper hits. More than that, I don’t want any publicity. So it easier for them to think like that. Or their attempt is to brand the cause like that.
It is true that offers are dwindling. It is happening to other actors too, all those actors whose names are attached to WCC. Suddenly, they are on the blacklist. But that is also part of the game. So, we need to to know how to sidestep that.
You said that you are jealous of Bollywood. Many women have called out abusers and many leading actors are distancing themselves from the tainted people. But there is a loud silence on the part of young male actors in Mollywood...
In their silence, there are very loud about their indifference. Because of people who are choosing not to participate in their work space, to not express their opinion and by not taking the right side, they are causing people to suffer. They are not ready to acknowledge that. Their lives are not endangered. But for long can they be indifferent? It is only for so long that you can muffle a majority voice. And no matter how many times they repeat it is not a majority, that does not take away the truth.
Either they will learn on their own or they will be left without a choice. At one point or the other, when it happens, they will have to pay attention and invest.
In my case, Bangalore Days,Take Off , Charlie , Koode ...all did extremely well. I did a Hindi film that did well too. I could have totally chosen to mint money and focus on brand endorsements and so on. I am not dense. It is the prime of my career. But my career strategy has never been the most important thing, my conscience is. It does not let me sleep.
I am thoroughly disappointed with them, I thoroughly disagree with them. I am not asking them to be at the forefront. I am just asking them to have a say. We might think some of the members might have a reason for not coming out and supporting us but I refuse to believe that all members of different associations are like that.
It is a very tough time and I am jealous of Bollywood because they are making sure that all the women coming out are getting more job offers than ever before.
So, is there something seriously wrong in Mollywood?
Obviously. It is a foolish step on their side to not see that what they are doing is very visible to everyone. People are watching how their entire focus is on an image. When they have the power, space and stage to set an example, they are choosing something wrong. Instead of being on the right side of history, they are choosing the wrong side. I am hoping they will wake up someday. I am that hopeless, annoying optimist. At least to save their own image, I hope they wake up.
Senior actors like Revathy was almost pleading for a fair deal at the press conference...
We are livid and heartbroken as to how they can be so merciless. We are talking about basic human rights, basic working rights, the bare minimum. They have been so comfortable with how things have been going on. It does not affect their health, their mental well-being. Sorry, but time is up now. You cannot be comfortable on that throne any more. It is time to share, time to welcome.
Rima Kallingal once said that she dreams of a time when the women will make their own films and provide employment for one another....
It is a bigger scheme of action for us to start making films. There are bigger power structures of distribution and production, all male dominated. It is a harsh reality. Our offers might be dwindling. We are not leaving the scene. It is our right to stay with a craft that we are good at. It is not up to another person to decide our fate. We will be working. This is something Rima and all of us in WCC have decided.
Do they feel threatened?
I am sure they do, but there is space for everyone. We have never taken away any of their work, payment or anything they have. We are only saying provide the same resources for us — basic sanitation, for instance. As a leading actor, I get it. Even for a bathroom, we have to fight. Why don’t our associations pass an act or come to an understanding that there will be e-toilets on all sets? It is not because they don’t have the money. They don’t want to. It is hard to see that I can go when I want to, my director can go. But all the other women working on the sets are forced to hold on and wait. Even during their periods, they have to disappear behind a bush or wait till they reach their rooms. This is against human rights. You can’t do that at the workplace.
Beyond all that, regarding sexual harassment, we are asking the Associations to follow the law of the land. I am confident that this will pass. It may not happen in my lifetime. But it will happen, perhaps when I am in my sixties, a change in the power structure. I can let go of my anger or sadness because the fact is that there is nothing you can do to stop the truth. Even with me, there are so many things I have bottled up. It will all come out. You can’t stop it.
Why did you bottle it up?
I decided not to talk about it because I never had a collective when I came into cinema. We were made to feel that we were alone and these problems were only for us. When the WCC was formed, I realised that all the women have been through it. The propositioning and so on. Repeat offenders are walking loose in the industry. There is not much you can do about something that happened 10 years ago. But it should come out. Why should we take it to our grave?
