'Malayalam film industry ruled by mafia': Justice Hema committee's finally-released report's disturbing revelations

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 19 (IANS) In shocking revelations,  the Justice K. Hema Committee report on the condition of women in the Malayalam film industry, which was finally released on Monday, said that the male-dominated industry is ruled by a "mafia", which includes some top actors too, and women actors face a harrowing time at work. 

The Committee mentions that its members were in a state of shock after hearing the testimonies.

It points out that the Internal Complaints Committee for each film has been found to be ineffective and the state government should work out new ways to ensure the interests of the women in the film industry are taken care of.

The Kerala High Court had, last week, given the nod to release the report, with the condition that names should not be given in the report and all sensitive information should be redacted. On Monday also, there were some attempts to delay it, but these did not succeed.

The 289-page report states that the "mafia" in the film industry is controlled by a section of the directors, producers, and male actors and all those who raise a complaint are sidelined and subjected to untold miseries.

One actress had testified that she had to take a shot 17 times with a person who had troubled her and due to that, the director and others were angry. Another actress said that despite numerous requests to the director to tell her about intimate scenes and the details, the director failed to inform her and after the shooting was over, she asked the director not to go forward with these scenes, but her request was turned down and she was threatened that he will even put out the scenes into the public domain.

The report also reveals that the casting couch is prevalent in the film industry with the worst affected being those who act in small roles, particularly if they want to be considered for more roles. If new women actors want to be considered for a role in films, they have to agree to sleep with those who call the shots.

It also points out that there is a state where women actors have to come with their family members for fear of being exploited. Moreover, it said that at night, there are knocks on the room doors of actresses and if they do not open the door, then, the "visitors" bang the door violently.

Another shocking piece of information is that even to get good quality food in shooting locations, women have to make compromises.

It also points out that women producers are also at the receiving end of the male-dominated film lobby.

In short, the report points out that the glitter of the industry is only on the surface covering the ugly side of the male-dominated film industry underneath. It is also suspected there were attempts to ensure that this report, which was submitted in 2019, took such a long time to be released and when it came out finally, the names and certain damning details still held back.

It remains to be seen how the Pinarayi Vijayan government will deal with this report.

When the report was released, the entire Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes ( AMMA) members, both actors and actresses, were busy taking part in a final rehearsal for a charity show to take place near Kochi on Tuesday.

In his reaction, AMMA General Secretary and popular actor Siddique said they have only heard that a report has been released and they have no other details and hence, it is too early to make any statements.

--IANS

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