AMMA welcomes Hema committee report, no power group, mafia: Siddique

Kochi: The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) on Friday broke its silence on the findings of the Hema Commission report, five days after the damning report on rampant sexual harassment and gender inequality in the Malayalam film industry came out after a five-year wait. Talking to the media, AMMA General Secretary Siddique said the association welcomed the report and its recommendations and that the police should investigate and punish those responsible.

He also said that a wrong impression has been created by the media that the report is against AMMA. “AMMA is mentioned in the report. However, the association is not in the dock. It is a committee that has been set up to study the issues faced by our members. We stand by the report and have not chosen to support the guilty,” Siddique said.

Referring to the mafia and the power group, he said he was not aware of any such nexus. “There was a high power committee that was constituted ten years ago with representatives from all the film related associations in the state. We are not sure if that is what was mentioned. Otherwise, there is no power group controlling the industry. I have been here for decades, I have never seen a power group controlling the industry. How can an industry function when there is a group controlling all aspects?” Siddique asked.

“Since the report came out, there have been allegations labelling the entire Malayalam film industry and its people as bad, which is painful. Every sector has problems but no one is coming out with comments that tarnish the entire sector,” he said.
AMMA Executive Committee members Vinu Mohan, Jayan Cherthala, Jomol and Ananya also attended the press conference.

Earlier today, Manorama News reported that the Kerala government had omitted 11 paragraphs from the report that were not recommended by the State Information Commission (SIC). The government released only 233 pages of the report, excluding sections that could infringe on the privacy of the named individuals. The omitted portions include paragraphs 97 to 107 from pages 49 to 53, as well as sections from pages 81 to 100 and pages 165 to 196. According to Manorama News, the 11 paragraphs from pages 49 to 53 were not part of the exclusions submitted by the SIC.

Incidentally, the 96th paragraph of the report spoke about the sexual abuse that women experienced at the hands of famous personalities. “After analysing the evidence presented to us, we are convinced that women experience sexual harassment even from very famous persons in the film industry, who were named before the committee. In considering the various aspects, we have no reason to disbelieve what has been stated before us about sexual harassment in the film industry,” the paragraph reads.

The Justice K Hema Commission was set up in response to the 2017 sexual assault case involving actor Dileep, to investigate issues of sexual harassment and gender inequality in the Malayalam film industry. A redacted version of the commission’s findings, released on August 19, contained explosive accounts of harassment, exploitation and abuse of women in the industry, triggering a political storm in Kerala.