Actor Suparna Anand, known for her role in the 1989 film ‘Vaishali’, lashed out at Malayalam cinemas superstars for their silence over recent #MeToo allegations in Mollywood and said she left cinema unable to withstand pressure within the industry.
Suparna, who entered the film industry as a child artist said the casting couch has been cinema since time immemorial. “Casting couch has been there since time immemorial. It is irrelevant to question why people decide to respond after a period of 34 years. I worked in the Malayalam film industry only for four years. But I had to leave because of the pressures within the film industry,” Anand told OnManorama.
The actor expressed surprise over the silence of Malayalam superstars Mohanlal and Mammootty and demanded they should react. Anand also said actor-politician M. Mukesh should resign from MLA post and face investigation. Kerala police have registered a case against Mukesh following sexual assault allegations against him.
The Malayalam film industry has been rocked with allegations of sexual exploitation, assault and abuse, following the release of the Hema Committee report earlier this month. 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. Cases have been filed against some top actors and directors like Jayasurya, Ranjith, V.K. Prakash and others.
