AMMA refutes Hema committee claims about power nexus

Kochi: The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) on Friday responded to the allegations levelled against it in the Hema Commission report on sexual harassment and gender inequality in Malayalam cinema. The publication of the report after five years has led to debates and concerns.

At a press conference, AMMA Secretary General Siddique expressed his organization’s support for the said report and its recommendations. He stressed that the police should conduct proper investigations and punish accordingly those accused of crimes mentioned in the document.

Siddique refuted allegations that AMMA was specifically targeted in the Hema committee report. “AMMA is mentioned there but we are not on trial. It is a committee that was set up to study the problems of our members and we are going along with that. We have decided not to stand up for the guilty,” he explained to reporters.

Siddique also denied that there is such a thing as a “mafia” or power group in Malayalam cinema, as alleged in the revelations in this report. “I have been here for decades; I have never seen anything like a syndicate running this business; how would an industry survive with one group controlling everything?” he asked.

A press conference with AMMA board members Vinu Mohan, Jayan Cherthala, Jomol and Ananya also discussed issues raised about the entire Mollywood being portrayed as corrupt or dangerous in general. “Every sector is facing problems; but when entire industries are discredited, it hurts,” Siddique added.

Meanwhile, Manorama News reported that the Kerala government had omitted 11 paragraphs from the Hema Committee report that were not recommended for publication by the State Information Commission (SIC). These sections were deleted as they contained sensitive information that violated the privacy rights of the persons named in the document.

The biggest of these omissions is paragraph 96, which is said to have revealed incidents of sexual harassment committed by some prominent personalities in the industry. According to the report, there was substantial evidence to support allegations of abuse made by those who appeared before the committee.

The Justice K Hema Commission was set up in the wake of actor Dileep’s sexual abuse case in 2017. The redacted version of its findings on August 19 created a political furore in Kerala and exposed the widespread problems of abuse and exploitation in the sector.