‘Never consulted with us; power group and mafia do not exist’, b unnikrishanan on hema committee, amma, wcc, film industry, malayalam cinema, fekfa

Kochi: B Unnikrishnan, general secretary of the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA), has come out strongly against the Justice Hema Committee, alleging that the committee did not consult any organisation other than the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) to gather information.

At a press conference in Kochi, Unnikrishnan questioned the basis on which the Hema committee selected individuals for the report. He also asked why members of the producers association, AMMA and FEFKA were excluded by the committee.

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“The commission did not even speak to the general secretaries of the FEFKA unions. The names mentioned in the report, including those of the alleged ‘power group’ of 15 members, must be made public. Allegations of a power group and mafia are only fabrications of a few witnesses and are not feasible within the film industry,” he said.

Unnikrishnan also claimed that the audition process for films is managed by the organisations and that there are no ongoing issues with casting calls. He added that two complaints of sexual harassment had been received and resolved.

He also announced changes to FEFKA’s statutes, raising the age limit for make-up artists to 35 and increasing the percentage of women to 20 percent.