Malayalam director Ranjith, actor Siddique quit film houses over sexual abuse allegations

New Delhi: The Malayalam cinema industry is reeling from a controversy surrounding allegations of sexual harassment and abuse of female professionals. Director Ranjith and actor Siddique have resigned from their respective positions as president of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy and general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA). The resignations come in the wake of the Justice K Hema Committee report, which exposed cases of harassment and exploitation of women in the industry.

Bengali actress Sreelekha Mitra’s allegations of misconduct against filmmaker Ranjith, originally made years ago, resurfaced and gained traction after the release of the Hema Committee report, leading to fresh outrage and calls for accountability. The actress alleged that he had behaved inappropriately towards her during her audition for his 2009 film Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Kathastarring Mammootty, Shwetha Menon and Mythili.

The News Minute reported that Mitra described the alleged incident during a conversation with Asian. She said: “I was on the phone with a cameraman, standing on the balcony of Ranjith’s bedroom. As I stood there, he touched my bangles. I felt uncomfortable, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Then he started caressing my neck, so I excused myself and left the room.”

She added: “It was traumatic and I couldn’t share the incident with anyone. After the incident, I spent the night in my hotel room in fear, thinking: what if people knocked on my door? I waited for daylight.”>

Ranjith denied the allegations and claimed that he had been attacked by a section of the people since he became the chairman.

“Since the day I became the chairman of the academy, I have been attacked by a certain section of the population. I have to prove before the association that the allegations are false. I have decided to act legally and bring out the truth,” Ranjith said in an audio clip sent to a news channel announcing his decision to resign. PTI reported.>

Meanwhile, a female actor accused Siddique of sexual assault on August 24 (Saturday), alleging that he abused her trust after inviting her to discuss a potential film role. Siddique’s resignation was welcomed by AMMA members, who felt it was inappropriate for him to continue in his role amid serious allegations.>

PTI reported that actor Anoop Chandran informed the media that he had sent an email to AMMA president Mohanlal on Sunday morning, highlighting why Siddique’s resignation was important. “To continue a person who is facing serious allegations in the role is actually an insult to the entire organisation. So I said in the email that if Siddique was not prepared to resign himself, then the executive committee should be prepared to fire him,” Chandran was quoted as saying by the news agency.

Similarly, actress Mala Parvathy was quoted as saying: PTI“The actor’s dismissal is inevitable… it is an appropriate decision. If that victim woman had the courage to come before society and detail the trauma she has undergone, we should understand the intensity of the pain and humiliation she has suffered.”>

The Kerala government has assured strict action against wrongdoers, with cultural affairs minister Saji Cheriyan saying the government is standing by victims of sexual abuse and assault. The industry is under pressure to address the systemic issues that have allowed harassment and assault to continue.>

In 2017, the Hema Committee was set up to investigate the Malayalam film industry’s treatment of women, following the shocking abduction and assault of a prominent actress. The report reportedly contained disturbing details, including widespread sexual exploitation, involvement of minors and a suspected drug mafia operating within the industry.>

Speaking with NDTV Speaking about the report, actress Parvathy Thiruvothu said in an interview, “The sense of achievement is extremely bittersweet for us, especially because the first statement was made sometime in 2018 and the report was filed sometime in 2019. It took so many years for it to come out. The redacted version of it. During those years, we really had to beg, grovel and fight. Allies were from the public and from the media, who had to join this fight and say, ‘Wait, why are you hiding this from us? Why isn’t it coming out?'”

“These are not nice things to read. These are not nice things to confirm. And now that it’s in an official document, it definitely becomes more serious and we feel vindicated, honestly. But I would say this is just the beginning,” the actress added.>