With more instances of harassment of women in the film industry coming to light, owing to the #MeToo campaign, the Film Industry for Rights and Equity (FIRE) has appealed to the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) to refer all complaints they receive on this issue to the organisation.
FIRE is a registered body formed 18 months ago by a group of like-minded people in the Kannada film industry. Actor Priyanka Upendra and director Kavitha Lankesh as president and vice-president, respectively, while actor Chetan Ahimsa is the general secretary.
To tackle sexual harassment, FIRE has constituted an 11-member Gender Sensitisation and Internal Complaints Committee (GSICC) in accordance with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Rules, 2013.
In a letter to S.A. Chinne Gowda, president, KFCC, Chetan, who is also a student of gender studies, said on Saturday that the ‘casting couch’ and harassment in other forms exist in the industry. “If complaints received from aggrieved parties about sexual harassment and casting couch are transferred to GSICC of FIRE, the 11-member committee will investigate, inquire in the legal framework and submit a detailed report to KFCC,” he said. When asked why FIRE was not favouring the GSICC within KFCC, Mr. Chetan argued that KFCC is an umbrella body of the film industry and has too many responsibilities on hand.
When contacted, Mr. Chinne Gowda was non-committal on handing over the cases. He said KFCC has a committee of representatives of various film bodies and they were taking up sexual harassment cases whenever approached. “However, FIRE’s intention is good and I don’t oppose their endeavour and support them,” he told The Hindu.
Meanwhile, supporting #MeToo movement, multi-lingual actor Shruti Hariharan said, “#MeToo movement gaining momentum is a healthy sign. Any obstruction to the movement will only make the campaign stronger.”
