3 minutes agoWriter: Kavita Rajput, Kiran Jain
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In February 2017, an actress from the Malayalam film industry was sexually harassed in a moving car. Actor Dileep's name came to the fore behind this incident, after which many people started raising their voice against the mistreatment of women in the Malayalam film industry.
After this incident, the government formed the Hema Committee. This committee submitted its report to the government in December 2019, which has come out now after 5 years.
There are many shocking revelations in this report, which have shaken the Malayalam film industry. Let us know what is this Hema Committee report which is in the headlines these days.
10 big things came out from Hema Committee report
1) Sexual harassment is the biggest problem
The biggest problem for women in the industry is sexual harassment. Many times women are afraid to speak openly about this. They feel that if they open their mouth, they will be banned from the industry and no one will give them work. Even many women artists were hesitant to say anything in front of the committee.
2) Many big names of the industry are also involved in harassment
According to women, harassment starts from the very beginning. From the director, producer to the production controller, everyone is involved in it.
If a woman approaches the production controller or any person for work then she is told about sexual favours.
Adjustment and compromise are very common words among women in the Malayalam film industry. Based on the testimonies given by female artists, it is believed that even the bigwigs of the industry are involved in this.
3) Bad image of the industry created in front of newcomers
The image of the Malayalam film industry has been created such that if newcomers want to make a place here, they will have to give sexual favors, whereas this is not the case.
There are many directors-producers who treat women very well or take great care of their safety on the sets.
Many women artists named before the committee those people who give a lot of respect to women in the workplace.
4) Men openly demand sex
Most of the male artists in the Malayalam film industry think that if women are comfortable giving intimate scenes in films, then they will be ready to do so off set as well. Because of this, men in the industry openly demand sex from women.
Many women showed evidence of this by providing video clips, audio clips, screenshots and WhatsApp messages. The women stressed on this issue and said that such situations should end in cinema.
The Hema Committee submitted its report to the Kerala government in 2019. It was published on 19 August 2024.
5) Men said- sexual harassment happens everywhere
Many men told the committee that sexual harassment is not only prevalent in the film industry but it happens in every field. This issue is exaggerated in the field of cinema. However, women completely rejected this fact in front of the committee.
He said that sexual harassment in cinema is quite different from any other field. Casting couch completely changes the criteria of getting a job in the film industry whereas this does not happen in other jobs.
6) Men bang on the door at night
Many women said that whenever they stay in a hotel with other colleagues for work, men knock on their room door at night. Many times it has happened that when the door is not opened, the men knock so hard that the door breaks.
7) Women are talked about in code words
Women are talked about in code words. If a woman does not compromise, she should forget about work. The report also states that the industry feels that women have come here only to become famous or to earn money. To do this, they can go to any extent. They will even agree to sleep.
8) You are not allowed to go to the toilet
Women actors are not even provided basic toilet facilities during outdoor shoots. The production unit also does not give them toilet breaks as it wastes time in commuting.
Many female artists told in the report that due to lack of toilet facilities on the sets, they drink less water, due to which they later get infected and many diseases. During periods, they are not able to change sanitary pads for hours.
Big stars have toilet facilities in their vanity vans on the sets, but junior artists are not allowed to use these vans. There is only a thin curtain on the set for changing clothes.
9) The industry is ruled by men
The report says that the entire film industry is male dominated. Some producers, directors and actors rule the entire industry. If anyone dares to speak against them, he starts getting threats. The lobby of powerful people is so strong that people call them mafia. They can do anything in the film industry.
If they want, they can ban any actor, director or producer without any solid reason. If any man or woman tries to raise voice against this powerful lobby, then he or she can even be fired from the industry.
10) Fees are not paid if there is no written contract
There are no written contracts in the Malayalam film industry. Producers make written contracts only with big actors. Many times, after getting the work done, producers refuse to pay the agreed fees to the crew members.
The situation of women is even worse in terms of fees. A female artist told the committee that she was playing the lead role in a film. During the discussion, she was informed that there would be intimate scenes in the film, but not much was revealed. After three months of preparation, when she started shooting for the film, the director told her about nudity and liplock scenes in the film.
She was pressured to do kissing scenes and back exposure. When the female artist left the film, she did not have any written contract on the basis of which she could claim her fees.
What happened after the Hema Committee report came out?
- After the report came out, many female artists working in the Malayalam film industry are mentioning incidents of sexual harassment that happened to them.
- Bengali actress Srilekha filed a complaint of sexual harassment and rape against Malayalam filmmaker Ranjith, following which Ranjith had to resign from the post of Chairman of Kerala Chalachitra Academy.
- Following allegations by actress Revathi Sampath, actor Siddique resigned from the post of General Secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA).
- Following allegations of sexual abuse against AMMA general secretary Actor Siddiqui and joint secretary Baburaj, 17 people including president Mohanlal resigned.
- Actress Meenu Muneer accused Malayalam actor and CPI (M) Kollam MLA Mukesh M. of sexual harassment on the set, after which a case was registered under section 354 against 7 people including actor Jayasurya. All these accused were mentioned by Meenu in her Facebook post.
- All these cases will be investigated by the SIT (Special Investigation Team), which was formed on August 25.
Dainik Bhaskar spoke to Tanushree Dutta, Ahana Kumara and Sona Mahapatra who shared their views on the MeToo campaign
Regarding the #MeToo movement, Tanushree said, After this, I have seen a change. Petty predators who harass girls have become cautious now. They are afraid that the girl might be recording it and the matter might reach the police. However, the really dirty people, who have more power, still have their ego. The law will have to be made stricter for them so that they get punished.
,#MeToo After the movement, work opportunities stopped for us. Anu Malik is being made a judge again and again. Sajid Khan also came on Bigg Boss. A man like him, who has done wrong to so many women, is still roaming freely.
Vikas Bahl, director of the film 'Queen' is working in films again. These people have started working again and those who spoke the truth were silenced by calling them 'trouble makers'.
