It was meant to be an evening of stocktaking of the tumultuous first year of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), formed in the aftermath of the abduction and assault of an actor last year.
But the anniversary meeting at Bharat Bhavan here on Monday evening, which began on a sober note, soon turned into a heated debate, with the spirited women countering a small group of men who were still in denial of inequalities and wage gaps existing in the Malayalam film industry.
Film editor Bina Paul who opened the debate said the WCC was a big step for the industry, as it became the first film industry in the country to recognise that gender needed focus as an issue. Filmmaker Vidhu Vincent said it was a positive note that the call for this change came from the film industry. “One of the biggest factors that decide the power of patriarchy is capital, as it is men who control the production. We might have to upset this order to bring about a change,” she said.
Filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan said women were often absent from serious discussions and flocked to the theatres to watch films that degraded women. “This change has to happen in all fields. We have to stop the practise of girls and boys schools,” he said.
Filmmaker Kamal said the commission appointed by the government to study the issues of women in the industry was yet to begin its work. His opinion on the inequalities in wages between women in the sector was countered by Ms.Vidhu Vincent who said Parvathy who had more screen time than others in ‘Take off’ was paid less than the main male actors. Feminist scholar J. Devika also said it was not right to say that you have to end inequality between women before you can talk about other inequalities. Filmmaker Harikumar’s claim that no inequality exists in the industry now was countered by lyricist M.R. Jayageetha, office-bearer of FEFKA women’s union. Mr. Harikumar said a minimum wage cannot be fixed in a creative field, but State Women’s Development Corporation MD V.C. Bindu said creativity cannot be a barrier for minimum wage.
Driven by market
A young producer, who said wages were decided by the masses and the market, was countered by film scholar Meena T. Pillai who said the logic of masses and market was patriarchy, which the producer would parrot. Haritha Mission Director T.N. Seema said WCC had been able to inflict shock on patriarchal values. Writer Zachariah said the most important step now was for the WCC to urge the government to create strong laws.
Ms. Devika said the WCC should forge alliances with working women from unorganised sector and women writers. It should also think about organising events at the panchayat level.
