‘Tamil Nadu film industry under DMK control, hard to complain about’

Tamil actor and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) women’s wing deputy secretary Gayathri Raghuram on Thursday (August 29) lauded the Kerala government’s initiative to release the Justice Hema Committee report, which highlighted alleged cases of sexual exploitation in the Malayalam film industry. She also called for greater representation of women in all bodies “so every union should have a parent body which has 50 per cent women and 50 per cent men.”

The Malayalam film industry is currently embroiled in a controversy due to allegations of sexual harassment by actresses against several prominent figures in the industry.

Speaking to ANI, the actor-politician said, “I want to say that this is not happening only in Mollywood. First of all, I don’t want to call it Mollywood and separate the industry from other Indian industries like Bollywood. So I think we have to be one. It is one Indian film industry. So that’s how they formed a beautiful committee, the Hema committee, and they have received a lot of reports and they have received a lot of complaints and big, big names have been named. So I think it’s a great initiative by the government and they are taking a big step because women today cannot come out and work freely. There are women who have fought bravely, others have lost their opportunities. This is the time when there should be reservation for women.”

She praised the initiative of the commission and said, “So this commission is actually very important. At the same time I will say that the reservations for women should be discussed. 33 percent of the reservations for women should be discussed. The women should be given their rights. So with these kind of rights we can only really talk today.”

“Earlier we had women Chief Ministers, but today we have only Mamata Banerjee. Today we don’t have women leadership who can protect women. Today only powerful men are in positions of power. We saw how Prajwal Revanna escaped the law for a long time, Brij Bhushan also escaped the law – because of the powerful who protected them. We saw how the rapists of Bilkis Bano were protected.”

Gayathri Raghuram further said, “When it comes to the Me Too movement, it’s like, you know, when we talk about the Me Too movement, it’s an issue for a while. And then it becomes a troll movement for a while. And then it becomes, oh, women are like this, they keep complaining. And that’s how the male-dominated society sees it and they kind of push it under the carpet.”

“Nowadays the entire Tamil Nadu industry is under the control of the DMK, so it is very difficult for anyone to go and complain. So the only solution for this could be in the parent body. Instead of just committees, the parent body should have 50 percent women in the union. So every union should have a parent body which has 50 percent women and 50 percent men. Only then can women’s rights be heard, women’s voices be heard, and whatever we need, representation, women’s representation. It is very important for the entire country. And I hope the government takes a big step and brings 33 percent reservations for women to the country.”

Earlier this month, a redacted version of the Justice Hema Committee report on harassment of women in the Malayalam cinema industry was made public. It contains accounts of harassment, exploitation and assault of female professionals.

The report, which was released after redacting the names of witnesses and suspects, said the Malayalam film industry is controlled by about 10 to 15 male producers, directors and actors who dominate and exercise control over the industry.

The report of the three-member panel headed by a former judge of the Kerala High Court, set up by the state government in 2017, was submitted to the Pinarayi-led Kerala government in December 2019 and made public only this month.

The government has set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the problems faced by women in the sector.

Kerala Police said the Special Investigation Team held a meeting at the police station on Tuesday.

“The SIT has been strengthened by adding additional women officers. All related cases registered with local police stations are being handed over to the SIT for further investigation,” a press release from Kerala Police said.