Sexual abuse allegations rock Kerala film industry

Accusations. Resignations. Police complaints.

These words have dominated headlines and rocked the vibrant film industry in the southern Indian state of Kerala since last week.

The state has seen a series of sexual abuse allegations against several top male stars since a landmark report examining the issues faced by women in the industry was published. released last week.

The industry produces about 150-200 Malayalam films every year and is a vibrant, important business that has generated a number of highly regarded and progressive cinema emerged from India.

But the 290-page report by a three-member panel – known as the Hema committee – detailed problems faced by women in Malayalam cinema, including poor working conditions and widespread sexual harassment. Parts of the report were redacted to conceal the identities of survivors and those accused of harassment.

Since the film’s release, a number of women — some of whom have now given up acting careers — have spoken out publicly about facing sexual assault and harassment in the industry.

More than a dozen police complaints have been filed against several male stars, including two who have also filed counter-complaints.

The change was so big that the entire top governing body of the state’s largest film group – the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) – was dissolved after its president, superstar Mohanlal, resigned on “moral grounds” after several members faced allegations.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg. Only a few people have spoken up so far. More serious issues may come up,” actor Mala Parvathy told BBC Hindi.

The reaction to the first-of-its-kind report is being closely watched by people in many of India’s film industries, including Bollywood. During the #MeToo movement, several women came forward with allegations of sexual harassment against actors and filmmakers in various states, but few were investigated.

The government set up the Hema committee, headed by a former judge of the Kerala High Court, in 2017 following the shocking incident. sexually assaulted a top actress. One of Kerala’s biggest actors, Dileep, was named as an accused by the police and charged with criminal conspiracy. He denied the charges, but was arrested and held for three months before being released on bail. The case is still before the court.

After the report was published, the first public allegation came from Bengali actress Sreelekha Mitra, who accused acclaimed director Ranjith of sexually harassing her several years ago. He denied the allegations but resigned as president of the state’s prestigious film academy. Mitra filed a police complaint.

Many other complaints are similar to those revealed by unnamed women in the Hema committee report that they were repeatedly asked to “compromise” and “adjust” in exchange for opportunities.

Minu Muneer told BBC Hindi and several other news channels that an actor had hugged and kissed her without her consent while they were filming. She also detailed instances of sexual misconduct by others in the industry, including prominent actor and lawmaker Mukesh.

Mukesh has denied the allegations against him and accused Muneer of trying to blackmail him.

“I welcome any investigation into the allegations against me and others in the film industry,” he wrote in a Facebook post.

Two actresses have accused a director of knocking on their hotel room door in the middle of the night. He has yet to respond to the allegations.

An actress has accused popular actor Siddique of raping her in 2016 and has filed a police complaint against him. Siddique, who resigned as AMMA secretary general following the allegations, has denied the allegations and accused the complainant of trying to “tarnish his reputation”.

While the Kerala government has been lauded for being the first to set up such a committee, the release of the report has also drawn criticism.

The report, which was submitted in 2019, was only released last week after nearly five years of delays and multiple legal challenges by members of the film industry. The government then said that while it would investigate all complaints filed with the police, it would not take any action on its own. But as pressure mounted, it set up a special team to investigate the complaints.

The Kerala High Court has also asked the government to submit the entire report – including 54 redacted pages – to the court.

In the Malayalam film industry, the reaction to the report has been mixed. Superstars like Mohanlal and Mammotty have been criticised for not yet making a public comment.

Several actors welcomed the release of the report and called on the government to conduct a proper investigation into the allegations. A prominent film workers’ union has called on the government to reveal the names of those accused in the report.

Others lamented that the report was being used to label all men in the industry as abusers.

But many also say the report and subsequent changes are positive, much-needed changes in an industry often praised for making progressive films.

“I don’t agree with people saying, ‘The Malayalam industry is rotten inside’. No, we are good inside, that’s why we are fixing it,” actress Parvathy Thiruvothu, a founding member of the Women in Cinema Collective, an organisation formed after the 2017 attacks, told a news channel.

It’s the industries “where you don’t hear anything” that people should be “worried about,” she added.

Additional reporting by Meryl Sebastian in Delhi