The Hema Justice Committee’s report on women’s working conditions in Mollywood has been released

The Kerala government on Monday released the 233-page Justice K Hema Committee Report. The report, released under the RTI Act after deleting 63 pages from the 295-page first draft, reveals the existence of an all-male power group with 15 big names including directors, producers and actors in the Malayalam industry. The power group decides who should stay in the industry and who should be cast in films, the report said.

“During the course of the investigation, we came to understand that the Malayalam film industry is under the control/grasp of certain producers, directors, actors — all men. They control the entire Malayalam film industry and they dominate other persons working in cinema,” the report said.

The report reveals that the Malayalam film industry is heavily influenced by criminals and misogynists.

A group of influential male directors, producers and actors have been dubbed a ‘mafia’ because they have the power to ruin the careers of those who speak out against them. The report confirmed the involvement of ‘major’ actors.

“The Commission has been informed that a leading actor in Malayalam cinema has termed the powerful lobby in the film industry as ‘mafia’ as they could do anything in the film industry, according to their whim and fancy, and even ban very prominent directors, producers, actors or other persons, even though such ban was illegal and unwarranted,” the report said.

“No man or woman should utter a word that could offend anyone belonging to the power group, because such a person will be swept away from the industry by the powerful lobby,” it said.

The report found that there is a primitive approach towards women in Malayalam cinema and confirmed the existence of casting couch syndrome in the industry.

“There is a general assumption that women come to the cinema to earn money and that they indulge in everything. The men in the cinema cannot even imagine that it is because of their passion for art and acting that a woman comes to the movies. But the impression is that they come for fame and money and that they sleep with every man to get a chance in a movie,” the report explained.

The report said directors and producers often pressure women into exploitative situations. Women who agree to their terms are referred to by code names – ‘Cooperating artists’. Several accounts have emerged of women compromising their integrity for roles.

According to the report, production managers acted as manipulative intermediaries.

The report also reveals disturbing details of sexual harassment against women in the industry, including actors and other technicians.

The report is about a woman who was abused by an actor who revealed that she had to play the part of his wife the next day. She couldn’t face him and struggled through 17 takes.

“The next day she had to work, with the same man, as husband and wife, embracing each other. It was horrible. Because of what was done to her during the shooting, her resentment and hatred were reflected on her face, during the shooting. There had to be 17 retakes for just one shot. The director criticized her for the situation,” the report said.

Actresses often had to deal with persistent knocking on their door, and the knocking became increasingly louder if they did not respond. One actress expressed her fear that they would break in.

The report found that victims of intimidation were reluctant to approach police, fearing for their lives.

“If anyone complains, the consequences will be severe… they will be silenced. They even threatened to target families if anyone complained,” the report said.

“If someone thinks that a woman is a troublemaker, she will not be called to the cinema anymore. Therefore, women who are passionate about acting will silently suffer all the cruelties,” the report said.

According to the report, young artists are told that they will have a chance in cinema if they meet the sex requirements, and are told that they must adapt and compromise if they want to enter the film industry.

One of the artists mentioned that WhatsApp groups are created by certain coordinators or managers, with both male and female members in the group. These groups provide an opportunity to connect and get to know each other.

Junior artists had no set working hours, often from 7am to 2am, with no overtime pay and no transport to get home. The report also said some junior artists were too scared to give statements to the commissioners.

The report also talks about wage gaps, lack of privacy and basic amenities for women in the industry. Even basic amenities like toilets were denied to them.

The report is based on the statements of 51 people.

The decision to make the report public came after a bench of the Kerala High Court on Monday dismissed an appeal filed by actor Ranjini against a judge’s order that had upheld the State Information Commission’s (SIC) order to make public, with limited redactions, the Justice K Hema commission’s report on working conditions of women in the Malayalam film industry.