Malayalam sex scandal: 10 Mollywood stars get FIR for sexual harassment

The findings of the Hema Committee Report were downright inflammatory and seemed to have opened a Pandora’s box. The report, which exposed the rampant sexual exploitation in the Malayalam film industry, seems to have sparked the #MeToo movement 2.0. So far, around 10 prominent players from Mollywood have been implicated. Read on to know more about the accused.

Jayasurya

Actress Minu Muneer on August 28 filed a complaint against many established actors in the Malayalam film industry, including Mukesh, Jayasurya and Edavela Babu, citing Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which pertains to assault or criminal force on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty. Actor Jayasurya, along with several others, was implicated in the FIR. The actor has vehemently denied all allegations against him. He stated that the allegations have caused him and his family a lot of distress. Jayasurya, who is currently based in the United States, stressed that he will take legal action, with his lawyers managing the situation until he returns.

“Due to my personal commitments, my family and I have been in America for the past month and during that time, two false allegations of sexual harassment have been made against me. It has of course devastated me, my family and everyone I care about. I have decided to pursue this further on legal grounds,” Jayasurya wrote in a post on his Facebook page in September.

Hariharan

The veteran director was accused of making inappropriate advances by actress Charmila. Speaking to Mathrubhumi News, Charmila said the director made inappropriate requests for “adjustments”—an industry euphemism for sexual favors. She recalls being removed from a film after refusing to comply with these demands. Charmila specifically singled out MP Mohan, the producer of Arjunan Pillayum Anchu Makkalum, of orchestrating her exclusion.

Charmila further claims that during the casting of Parinayam, Hariharan asked the actor and her friend Vishnu if she would agree to these “adjustments”. When Vishnu informed him that she would not, both he and Charmila were dropped from the project.

Ranjith

Director-actor Ranjith was accused of sexual misconduct by an upcoming male actor. The youngster filed a complaint with the DGP, alleging that Ranjith had called him to a hotel room in Bengaluru in 2012 and subjected him to unnatural acts. Meanwhile, a junior artiste accused Babu of demanding sexual favours when she wanted to join the actors’ association AMMA, and alleged that other stakeholders treated her in a manner that violated her dignity as a woman.

Ranjith was earlier accused by Bengali actress Sreelekha Mitra, who accused him of misbehaving in a hotel in Kochi during the shooting of Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha. Babu had earlier been charged by the North Ernakulam police after a complaint was filed that he had harassed a person on the pretext of offering AMMA membership.

Siddique

The veteran actor was accused of sexual abuse by an aspiring actress. Taking to Facebook, the actress alleged that he lured her on the pretext of discussing a project and assaulted her in 2016. “I was a young newcomer to the industry at the time. He invited me to a hotel on the pretext of discussing a film project. There was no such film. It was a trap. He abused and raped me. He also physically assaulted me. I had to give up my dreams and my time and I went through a lot of mental trauma,”

Following the accusation, Siddique resigned as General Secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA).

M Mukesh

On Thursday, Kerala police registered a rape case against actor and CPI(M) legislator M Mukesh after actress Minu Muneer filed a complaint against him. Mukesh has dismissed the charges as “blackmail tactics”. He has also threatened to take legal action against the complainant.

The allegations were made by the actress after the release of the Justice Hema Committee report, which exposed widespread sexual abuse and harassment of women in the Malayalam film industry. Mukesh, a two-term legislator representing the Kollam Assembly seat, has denied the allegations.

Who are the others involved in this?

Others who face legal proceedings after police filed FIRs include Edavela Babu, Maniyanpilla Raju, director VK Prakash and production heads Vichu and Noble.

Following the report’s findings, superstar Mohanlal resigned as president of AMMA. He later pleaded with the public not to “destroy” the Malayalam film industry, as the livelihood of many depended on it.