Feminist organisation demands disclosure of report on sexual harassment in Tollywood

The All-India Feminist Alliance (ALIFA) – a women’s rights group on Sunday, September 8, urged Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to immediately publish his report on sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the Telugu film and television industry. This report was submitted to the Telangana government in 2022. However, the government is yet to make these findings public.

On August 24, after the Supreme Court intervened, the Kerala government released the Hema Commission report, which found multiple cases of human rights violations, including sexual harassment, against women. The Hema Commission was formed in 2017, following a brutal sexual assault on a female actor in Kochi, allegedly masterminded by actor Dileep. The Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in 2017 and demanded government action, which led to the formation of the commission.

The ALIFA Telangana government should follow suit and publish the High Commission report examining the conditions of women and transgenders working in the entertainment industry.

Following a public interest lawsuit, the previous BRS government in 2019 established a High Commission, composed of several activists and female police officers, to investigate the prevalence of sexual harassment and discrimination against women in the sector.

The action was followed by actor Sri Reddy’s controversial half-naked protest outside the Movie Artists Association office in Jubilee Hills, alleging sexual harassment at the workplace. The committee had interviewed women from all sections of the film and television industry.

Ram Mohan, who was then chairman of the Telangana State Film Development Corporation (TSFDC), was appointed chairman of the committee. A sub-committee, tasked with making recommendations that would help the government implement guidelines to curb sexual harassment in the industry, was also formed the same year.

According to the committee members, many dubbing artists revealed their harrowing experiences of sexual exploitation and the unethical working conditions that prevail in the industry. Although they submitted their findings to the government in 2022, the government has yet to release the report.

In the Malayalam film industry, the release of the Hema Committee report has sparked a wave of Me Too movement, encouraging survivors to name their abusers who hold influential positions. Several popular actors like Mukesh, Jayasurya, Nivin Pauly, Siddique, director Ranjith Balakrishnan have been accused of sexual harassment.

Along with the publication of the report, ALIFA also urged time-bound implementation of the recommendations, to ensure fairness and safe, dignified workspaces in the entertainment industry for hundreds of thousands of women, transgender and working-class people.

On August 30, Voice of Women (VOW), a collective of female Tollywood artists including actors Samantha, Anushka Shetty and others, also demanded the publication of the report. In a statement, VOW said, “Following the WCC, The Voice of Women, a support group for women in TFI (Telugu film industry), was formed in 2019. We urge the Telangana government to publish the sub-committee report on sexual harassment, which can help formulate government and industry policies to create a safe working environment for women in TFI.”

VOW added, “We, the women of the Telugu film industry, welcome the Hema Commission report and applaud the sustained efforts of the WCC in Kerala, which have paved the way to this moment.”