India shocked by report of widespread sexual abuse in Kerala film industry

“The state government should be ashamed of itself,” Shashi Tharoor, a former state minister and current MP, told reporters on Tuesday. “There is a system and that system has failed the women of Kerala. That system has betrayed the values ​​of the industry that they seem to promote in their art and cinema.”

The revelations come on the heels of the doctor’s case, which has sparked national outrage and brought attention to brutal cases of sexual abuse in the country. The rape and murder of the 31-year-old doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital on August 9 has sparked protests by doctors and others in cities across India.

The study in Kerala found that women faced at least 17 different forms of exploitation, ranging from sexual demands as a condition of working in the film industry to abuse and sexual assault.

“Our research has revealed that the Malayalam film industry is controlled by a small group of producers, directors and actors, all of whom are men,” the 235-page report said.

Women who agreed to provide sexual favors were given demeaning “code names” by influential men. To protect the identities of the victims, certain parts of the report have been redacted.

The three-member committee, headed by former Kerala High Court judge K Hema, completed the controversial report in 2019. However, its publication was delayed due to the sensitive nature of the findings.

The Kerala state government was forced to set up the panel in 2017 after a well-known Malayalam actress was abducted and sexually assaulted by a group of men, leading to the involvement of a popular male star.

The incident led to widespread protests by women’s rights groups, prompting the state government to launch an inquiry into the widespread exploitation of women in Kerala’s film industry.

Leading actors and technicians then formed the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), the first group of its kind in India, to advocate for women’s rights within the industry.

Government inactivity

“If any of those who testified before the Hema committee come forward with complaints, appropriate action will be taken. No matter how senior, everyone will be held accountable before the law,” Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters on Tuesday.

However, the state government’s reluctance to file charges and its decision to ask victims to refile their complaints individually has been met with fierce criticism.

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‘I hope he gets the harshest punishment’: Father of murdered Indian doctor demands justice

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“If victims have to file fresh complaints, the work of the Hema committee will be an exercise in futility,” said Jebi Mather, president of the women’s wing of the Congress party in Kerala and a member of the upper house of India’s federal parliament.

“The government is moving at a snail’s pace. Their plan to hold a conclave is misguided. Conclaves are for tourism development or investment drives, not for serious issues like sexual harassment. You don’t put criminals and victims in the same room to discuss solutions,” Mather told This Week in Asia.

Bina Paul, one of the pioneering women technicians in Kerala’s film industry, said systemic changes are essential to improve the treatment of women.

“Important changes should include the establishment of proper internal committees on all film sets, with rules to ensure adequate facilities for women. There should be mechanisms for resolving complaints. Recruitment and other processes should be transparent and professional,” Paul, a WCC member, told This Week in Asia.

“Well-meaning men in the industry must stand behind their female colleagues and ensure that human rights abuses do not occur in the workplace,” she added.

Prominent filmmaker Jeo Baby, known for his female-centric films, voiced his support for the WCC. “I fully support the WCC and this is the right time for a big change in the film industry,” he told This Week in Asia.

‘Socially inferior and sexually available’

Kerala’s vibrant film industry is one of many regional film sectors in India and produces some of the country’s most critically acclaimed films.

Compared to other regional industries, Malayalam cinema is often praised for its progressive storylines, presence of gender-equal roles, age-appropriate characters, space for sexual minorities and embrace of literary greats.

Against this backdrop, revelations of widespread sexual exploitation in Kerala’s film industry are telling. Analysts say such practices are rooted in the very foundations of the industry.

“Regional cinema in India has traditionally been financed by feudal interests and usurious capital – often provided by moneylenders or landowners,” says J Devika, a historian at the Centre for Development Studies in Kerala.

“Actors were recruited from communities that were vilified in the caste hierarchy. These women were treated as socially inferior and sexually available,” said Devika, a feminist and social critic.

“This culture has endured for a long time and what we see today is a remnant of it. Women of decent background were not expected to become film actresses. Acting was seen as a sign of social inferiority and sexual availability,” she added.

Devika agreed that the Kerala government was reluctant to take strict action against the perpetrators as it meant going after influential people in the film industry.

“Actors and film-related associations are extremely powerful… The government does not want to risk taking action against them. The so-called mafia that runs the film industry… They are important sources of support for the political parties,” Devika said.