Start camera, exploitation!

The sky is full of mysteries; with the twinkling stars and the beautiful moon. But scientific investigation revealed that stars do not twinkle nor does the moon look beautiful. The study, therefore, cautions: ‘Do not trust what you see, even salt looks like sugar!’

These are the opening lines of the Hema Committee report, which details the issues women face in the Malayalam film industry. The report says that the “glamour of the industry is just an exterior glitter, but hovering over it are dark clouds of distress and agony, kept hidden from the outer world.”

The three-member committee, comprising chairperson K Hema, a retired justice, veteran actor T Sarada, and retired IAS officer KB Valsalakumari, revealed disturbing details in the 295-page report, parts of which have not yet been disclosed, considering the sensitivity of the information. Following the report’s release on August 19, several women have come out with shocking allegations of sexual assault and misconduct against the Malayalam industry’s bigwigs. The alleged perpetrators include actors Siddique, Jayasurya, Mukesh (also an MLA), Baburaj, and filmmakers Ranjith, Hariharan, and VK Prakash. Some of these men who held powerful positions in various film bodies have now been forced to resign. Owing to pressure from all corners, Mohanlal has also quit the president post of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA), and along with him all the other 16 executive committee members. The joint resignation has been called by many as an act of “cowardice.”

Earlier this year, when the industry was churning out blockbusters on a trot, but without any female presence, many questioned, “Where are all the women in Malayalam cinema?”. The tables have now turned, with people asking, “Where are all the men?”

The rise of WCC

It all started on that fateful night in February 2017 when a prominent female actor was abducted and sexually assaulted in a moving car in Kochi, the home of Malayalam cinema. The incident triggered widespread outrage, leading to the arrest of Dileep for allegedly hiring men to execute the crime at his behest. Said to be the first reported ‘quotation for rape’ case in the entire country, the incident created major rifts in the Malayalam industry.

A section of women from the industry came together to form the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), upon whose insistence the Kerala government formed the Hema Committee. The WCC demanded appropriate measures to ensure justice for the industry women for various reasons: gender bias, absence of an internal complaints cell, no mechanism to prevent sexual harassment, lack of safety and security at the workplace, etc.

Strength in numbers

Among feminist circles, WCC has often been hailed as a revolutionary organisation and an inspiration for women to stand together for their cause. Playback singer and voice artist Chinmayi Sripada, one of the loudest voices from Indian cinema to fight for women’s rights, says she is “borderline jealous of the women in WCC” as she wishes for similar support from the Tamil industry. “These women epitomised the true sense of sisterhood and fraternity. Despite the years of name-calling and denial of opportunities, they stuck together. I always wanted a similar support system. I don’t want to stand alone and look like a martyr. It’s very lonely and depressing,” says Chinmayi, who called out lyricist Vairamuthu for sexual harassment during the first MeToo movement in 2018.

Actor Gayathrie Shankar, who predominantly works in Tamil cinema, is upset with the lack of support for the likes of Chinmayi from within the industry and the media. “Back then, there was no solidarity like what we see in Malayalam today. Extreme unfair treatment was meted out to people like her and Sri Reddy, which scared everyone into silence. I’m also part of the problem, so I can’t blame anyone. The price one pays for speaking up is huge here.”

The Hema Committee’s action

The committee was officially formed in May 2017 and over the next two years, the members spoke to hundreds of industry insiders, both men and women, after assuring them of absolute confidentiality. Harrowing accounts of sexual harassment and various other kinds of exploitation were heard and verified. The report was submitted in December 2019, but it took another four years for the government to release it. Despite allegations about the government concealing the report to protect one of the state’s highest revenue-generating industries, many have welcomed the decision to eventually release the report and form a Special Investigation Team to probe the allegations. “It’s the first such study in India and the findings are shocking and need thorough investigation. Moreover, this report is not just for Malayalam. It’s relevant across languages,” stresses veteran actor Urvashi.

Lack of response from other industries

Apart from a few scattered responses about the report’s findings, there has been a strange silence from non-Malayalam industries, or is it ignorance? Gouri Kishan, an upcoming actor who has done films in Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam, is unsurprised by the lack of any real response from other languages. “The silence does not mean that these issues are Malayalam-centric. Things look scarier in the other industries where nothing comes out. In fact, one of my most unpleasant experiences was when a Tamil filmmaker almost threatened me of future opportunities simply because I requested a shift in the call-sheet timings.”

National-award-winning Kannada actor Sruthi Hariharan, who has been bearing the brunt of accusing actor Arjun Sarja of sexual misconduct, feels other industries are quietly observing the developments following the release of the report. “Beyond the findings, I’m more interested in how the committee’s recommendations will be executed. If that can be employed across all film industries, it’ll be fantastic,” feels Sruthi.

Need for similar study across languages

Following the startling revelations in the Hema Committee report, there have been calls for a similar study across Indian cinema. Notably, a few women from the Telugu film industry had created a WCC-like support group named The Voice of Women in 2019. Actors Samantha, Amala Akkineni, Lakshmi Manchu, and filmmaker Nandini Reddy who are part of the said group, have urged the Telangana government to “publish the submitted sub-committee report on sexual harassment, which can help frame government and industry policies, to establish a safe working environment for women in the TFI.

” Anasuya Bharadwaj, best known for roles in Telugu films like Kshanam, Rangasthalam, and Pushpa, adds, “A study similar to Hema Committee report is the need of the hour in Telugu cinema. Superstars like Chiranjeevi should speak up about it. During this recent Arshad Warsi controversy about Prabhas, everybody in the Telugu industry, especially the male actors rallied behind Prabhas. Is there anyone speaking about the Hema Committee?” asks Anasuya.

‘The onus shouldn’t be on the women’

System’s role

While most welcome a similar study in their respective industries, some are sceptical about it ever happening. “I don’t think it will ever happen in Tamil cinema,” says a dejected Chinmayi.

“Here, it’s the system supporting them. The politicians are backing the perpetrators and these perpetrators are also into politics. They’re not going to stab each other. What else to expect when we see the government, which claims itself to be a feminist party, and someone like Kamal Haasan continuously platforming a serial molester like Vairamuthu? As of today, 20 women have come out against him, but yet no action has been taken.” Chinmayi proceeds to question the mindset of working with perpetrators, despite allegations raised by multiple survivors.

“I understand Vairamuthu is politically powerful, but what’s stopping you from declining to work with Karthik? A senior singer once told me how he wanted to puke on seeing evidence of Karthik misbehaving with girls, but they still heap praises on each other on TV. Now people would ask me why I chose to work in Leo, which had Arjun, another MeToo accuse. To be honest, I didn’t know he was part of the film while I dubbed for Trisha because there were no combination scenes between them.” But what if she knew? Can everyone afford to be that choosy? “Had I known about Arjun’s presence, I would have at least asked Lokesh, “Why?”. Maybe I wouldn’t have done it. But I’m also aware how hard it was for Lokesh to hire me. He went through endless harassment from the dubbing union, who banned me for questioning Radha Ravi’s autocratic ways. For that, I give it to him. He wanted me to dub for Trisha, not because I’m the greatest voice artist ever. He believed in something and wanted to stand by it,” Chinmayi added.

Gayathrie also agrees with Chinmayi on preferring not to associate with perpetrators. She says, “Men who are not predators need to stand by women. The onus shouldn’t always be on the women.”

Who should the onus be on?

Veteran actor Sarada, one of the three members of the Hema committee, in her report, pointed out that the way women in the industry are dressed today is “not correct”. “More than concealing, their style of dressing exposes their body parts,” she observed. While her assessment has been dismissed by many as a “generational problem”, there are still calls for women to be vigilant and speak up for their rights. Actor-politician Khusbhu Sundar, also a Member of the National Commission for Women, says it’s important for women to speak up at the right time. “People might approach you with wrong intentions, but if you give in to the pressure, you’re scarring your soul for life.”

Shalini Kondepudi, an actor-writer from Telugu cinema, strongly believes that the responsibility of ensuring a safer industry is on the men, and not women. She adds, “Men should be the change makers, they shouldn’t indulge in any problematic behaviour and also call out the ones who do.”

Adjustment/Compromise

‘Adjustment’ and ‘Compromise’ are two words that probably feature the most in the 233-page Hema Committee report. They both denote the same thing: sex on demand. “Sexual harassment is the worst evil faced by women in cinema,” reads a highlighted segment in the report. And talking to a few women from within the industry further underlines it. “Me not getting enough films despite being appreciated for my performances can be mainly attributed to me not giving in to sexual favours,” says Gayathrie, adding, “There have been propositions, but I have certain strong principles and can’t shut down my emotions. My manager once told me, “Kudukra maari nadichittu kudukama poidanum madam, apo dhaan namakku vela kedaikum (We should pretend like giving in, only then we’ll get offers). I couldn’t stand such grooming and naturally, offers dried.”

Sexism

One of the most striking observations in the Hema Committee report reads, “Hierarchical structure in cinema is such that men are the norm and women are the other, and their rights are more infringed than protected.” The inequalities are evident from the glaring disparity in remuneration to allocating hotel rooms to something as flimsy as the food served. Gouri Kishan says, “Female actors are expected to report at 7.30 AM but the hero can turn up whenever he wants, be it 11 AM or 12 PM. The demarcation starts from there.”

Archana Kalpathi, the producer of the upcoming Vijay-starrer GOAT, is also conscious of the existing inequalities and believes that any workplace should have an equal number of men and women to foster a healthy environment. “While we often say that women are equal to men, the reality is that we still face significant disadvantages. We must actively work to dismantle the deep-rooted patriarchy that exists.”

Recommendations

The Hema Committee report has listed a set of recommendations to make the Malayalam film industry a safer and better place to work for women. While the practicality of some of the suggestions like certification of gender justice for films and government offering financial assistance for women during delivery and child care are still being scrutinised by the stakeholders, there’s a consensus on the dire need for clean toilets and ‘safe’ facilities to change costumes. While caravans are usually provided for main actors and technicians, the junior artists and set assistants have traditionally been denied such basic needs. Khushbhu, also a producer, proudly claims that she has been arranging caravans even for dancers in her sets and urges others to follow the same. But her fellow actor Radikaa, while sharing her experience on a Malayalam film’s sets, revealed how she was horrified to see men enjoying nude videos of female actors secretly recorded from hidden cameras in caravans.

Archana Kalpathi, however, feels that a production house alone cannot guarantee a safe environment. According to her, “To truly ensure safety, every department, including the various film bodies, must have a POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) committee. These committees should provide a safe, non-judgmental space for anonymous reporting.”

For a better tomorrow

Going by the Hema Committee report and the subsequent developments, it’s plain as day that there’s a dire need for a systemic revamp across all film industries. As actor Santhy Balachandran stresses, “Change can begin only when issues are acknowledged.” She feels the Ministry of Labour should intervene, and in consultation with film bodies, draw up legally sound, standardised protocols to remedy the systemic issues the Hema Committee Report has identified.” Within their limitations, Gayathrie and Gouri also hope to see more accountability from those in better powers. “Women speaking up has happened, now it’s up to the media to ask the uncomfortable questions and for the men in the industry to step up and clean this place,” states Gayathrie.

Chinmayi, who admits to being increasingly cynical because of the years of neglect, is still hoping against hope that things will change. “For a social change, we need to keep talking about it. I’ve had men who slut shamed me 5-6 years back texting and apologising. So it’s not a desolate world altogether,” reflects a hopeful Chinmayi.

As Hema Committee member Valsalakumari points out, cinema, widely regarded as the most influential art form in the world, has the power to make or mar values of children and youth. So any change in the film industry is certain to reflect on society, and vice versa. To quote Oscar Wilde, “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.”

(With inputs from A Sharadhaa, BH Harsh, Narayani M)