Kerala government forms SIT to probe allegations of sexual harassment in Malayalam cinemas amid industry shakeup

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Sunday decided to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising senior women police officers to probe allegations levelled by female actors in Malayalam cinema.

Malayalam film industry in a state of turmoil

The Malayalam film industry was in turmoil on Sunday with senior director Ranjith, the president, and Siddique, the general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes, resigning on Sunday after actors accused them of sexual harassment and advances. The allegations were documented in the Justice Hema Commission report, which had investigated the working conditions of female artistes in the Malayalam film industry five years ago.

The report has exposed cases of harassment and exploitation of women by a “lusty lobby”, leading to calls for action against the culprits. Ranjith filed his papers as chairman of the Chalachitra Academy, following revelations by Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra. The Left government had initially defended Ranjith, a fellow leftist traveller, but as pressure mounted, the director had no choice but to resign.

Allegations by Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra

Mitra had recently alleged that the award-winning filmmaker had behaved in an inappropriate manner during the shooting of a film he had directed in 2009. Mitra had said that she had had a negative experience while working on the film ‘Paleri Manikyam’, directed by Ranjith. The filmmaker has rejected the actor’s complaint and claimed that he was the ‘real victim’ in the case. He also said that he would legally challenge the allegations against him.

Ranjith was forced to announce his resignation on Sunday morning after massive protests against him and the state government in view of the shocking allegations. The opposition Congress and the BJP had already made it clear that Ranjith had no moral right to continue in office. BJP activists had marched to Ranjith’s residence in Kozhikode on Sunday morning to demand his resignation. In an audio clip sent to a television channel, Ranjith said that he did not want to continue as the chairman of the Chalachitra Academy as it would adversely affect the reputation of the Left government in the state. Soon after, a bombshell was dropped by young actor Revathi Sampath, who detailed the sexual harassment she had suffered at the hands of general secretary and senior character actor Siddique. He too resigned and emailed his resignation to AMMA president Mohanlal, who has now called an emergency meeting of the association.

Revathi Sampath accuses actor Riyaz Khan of sexual misconduct

Sampath has also accused actor Riyaz Khan of sexual misconduct, claiming that he called her and made obscene comments, and even asked her to introduce him to her friends. Strangely, Mohanlal and Mammooty, the two giants of the Malayalam film industry, have not responded to the Hema committee report so far.

Actor and former MLA Mukesh has also been accused of sexual misconduct. Casting director Tess Joseph has alleged that Mukesh repeatedly forced her to come to his room during a programme aired on a private channel. These revelations have put CPM MLA Mukesh in a difficult position. However, Mukesh dismissed the allegations as baseless and stated that he had never met Tess Joseph and that he was being targeted because of his political affiliation with the CPM. Joseph had filed the same complaint against Mukesh in 2018 and then too he had denied the allegation. Now, Joseph has reiterated her allegations by sharing Mukesh’s photograph on social media.

Meanwhile, a complaint has been filed with the Kochi police commissioner against Siddique, based on Sampath’s revelations. A resident of Vytilla filed the complaint, requesting that a POCSO case be filed against Siddique, as she was a minor when the incident took place. Sampath had earlier told the media that Siddique had misbehaved with her when she was in +2 (class 12), and she had first come forward with these allegations in 2019.

Meanwhile, in a bid to douse the raging fire in Kerala’s film industry, the state government has appointed another team to re-record the statements of the female actors so that a case can be filed. Legal experts say this is nothing but a delaying tactic and an intimidating move by the government.

Actors call for strong action against accused after release of Hema Commission report

After the release of the Hema Commission report, senior actress Urvashi and others have called for strong action against the accused. Actresses Manju Warrier, Geetu Mohandas and Ramya Nambeesan have also taken to social media to stress that the struggle of the attacked actors played a major role in the formation of the Hema Commission report. Actor-writer Ranji Panicker has reacted to the situation by saying that Siddique and Ranjith cannot be removed or banned from the film industry based on the allegations alone. While the state government has said that legal action would be taken against the accused if the woman filed a complaint with the police, Mitra on Sunday said she did not want to do so.

“I don’t want to file a complaint. Because for the past three days, I have been hounded by the media in Kerala and Bengal. I have to continue with my work,” she told a television channel.

She wondered who would run her household if she continued with this.

“I started the process. I’m passing the baton to whoever is going to take it further,” the actor said.

After Ranjith announced his resignation, State Culture Minister Saji Cheriyan told reporters here that the government would accept the filmmaker’s resignation once he submitted it. The minister reiterated that the Left government had always stood by victims in issues related to sexual abuse and molestation, and also rejected allegations that he had tried to shield the accused director. The minister also accused the media of “misinterpreting” his words and claimed that he had never supported Ranjith.

Cheriyan stirred controversy on Saturday by claiming that Ranjith is one of the most acclaimed filmmakers in the country and that no case can be filed on the basis of mere allegations. Such cases would not stand.