The Hema Committee report, which was released on August 19, and its repercussions since have rocked the Malayalam film industry like never before. Skeletons have been tumbling out of Mollywood's cupboards, with cases of sexual exploitation, assault and abuse being filed against some top actors and directors like Jayasurya, Ranjith and V.K. Prakash.
The committee was set up by the Kerala government in 2017, thanks to the efforts of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) after the sexual assault on a popular Malayali actor. The report, which was submitted in 2019, but was made public only earlier this month, detailed the issues faced by the women in the Malayalam film industry, including sexual harassment and poor working conditions on sets.
The findings of the three-member panel and its repercussions have given rise to calls for a similar exercise in other film industries, especially Kollywood, along with praise for the WCC.
“You have to appreciate some of these women who have stood strongly and gone with the forming of this committee,” Tamil actor Radhika Sarathkumar told Times Now. “Frankly, I’ve been in this industry for 46 years, and it’s not only in this industry, most of the time in all industries and workplaces, there is harassment towards women.”
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Tamil actor and producer Kutty Padmini, too, said that sexual harassment is rampant in the film industry. She revealed that, as a child, she was sexually harassed on set but was “thrown out of a Hindi film when my mom raised the issue". She also alleged that several women in the Tamil television industry have died by suicide due to the sexual harassment.
The Nadigar Sangam, a union for Tamil actors, has announced that it will form a 10-member committee within the next ten days, which will address issues of sexual harassment and that people from the Tamil film industry can come forward with their complaints.
Actor-turned-politician Gayathri Raghuram said that the issues faced by the industry are not one of a kind. “It’s a reflection of a larger problem across Indian cinema, whether it’s Bollywood or Mollywood. The industry needs a unified approach and more systemic changes,” she told ANI.
Raghuram also said that the current #MeToo movement should not be seen as a “passing trend” but, instead, should be seen as a steady platform where these issues can be discussed.
Khushbu Sundar posted on X (formerly Twitter), applauding the women who have stood their ground in the industry.
“The #HemaCommittee was much needed to break the abuse. But will it?” she asked. “As a woman and a mother, the wounds inflicted by such violence cut deep, not only in the flesh but in the very soul.”
Wishing that she had been born in Kerala and calling the WCC members her “heroes”, singer Chinmayi Sripada told The Indian Express “I am borderline jealous of the women in Kerala as I don't have the support they have.”
In 2018, Chinmayi levelled sexual harassment charges against Indian lyricist Vairamuthu, saying that she was asked to “cooperate” with him, but refused, leading to her ban from the industry.