A Committee set up to investigate the issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry was published on Monday, and it exposed the dirty reality behind the “exterior glitter” of the film industry. The Committee, headed by former Kerala High Court judge K. Hema, was constituted in the wake of the sexual assault on an actor in 2017. It submitted its report to the Kerala government on December 31, 2019, and it was made public on August 19, 2024.
The 235-page report details the horrid tales of sexual exploitation, illegal bans, discrimination, drug and alcohol abuse, wage disparity and inhuman working conditions. It notes that the Malayalam film industry is under the clutches of certain male producers, directors and actors, whom a prominent actor referred to as a “mafia”, as they could ban anyone from the industry.
The report has triggered a political storm in Kerala. The Opposition accused the government of not acting against the perpetrators, while the government denied any wrongdoings on its part. Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Minister for Culture Saji Cherian of having sat on the Hema Committee report. He accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of committing a criminal act by sitting on the report for nearly five years.
The government should explain why it failed to initiate legal and criminal proceedings based on the statements given by the women in the Malayalam film industry, who deposed before the committee, despite receiving the report nearly four-and-a-half years back in 2019, he said. He asked the government to launch an investigation into the matter without delay. Who is the government shielding by not acting on such crucial revelations? he asked.
The BJP’s Nivedita Subramanian, (text: BJP’s Mahila Morcha State president), accused the government of protecting predators in the film industry.
Culture Minister Saji Cherian said that none of the 45 persons who deposed before the Committee pursued the matter in the court or with the government, hamstringing further legal action. “It’s a harsh truth of capitalism that powerful profit-making lobbies with health and wealth controlled various sectors. Suppression is second nature to capitalism. It’s tough to change,” Mr. Cherian said. He said an entertainment industry conclave in October will lay the path forward for more accountability and transparency in the sector.
Reacting to the report, Kerala Women’s Commission chairperson P. Satheedevi said that the Kerala government should take steps to ensure conditions essential for women to work with dignity and self-respect in the Malayalam film industry. She said that the report had pointed out that the film industry itself had been taken over by criminals, had patriarchal tendencies and was a place where women were treated as second-class citizens.
Report: S.R. Praveen
Production: V. Nivedita
