Kerala Police Files First FIR Against Director Ranjith After Actress’ Complaint

On August 26, the Kerala police opened their first official complaint against filmmaker Ranjith in response to multiple recent allegations of sexual harassment targeting male artistes in Mollywood. The development came after Bengali actress Sreelekha Mitra filed a complaint with Kochi City Police Commissioner S Syamsundar against the director. Ranjith had allegedly grabbed the actress inappropriately and with sexual intent after asking her to appear in the 2009 film “Paleri Manikyam Oru Pathira Kolapathakathinte Katha”, according to the police complaint, which was sent via email.

Section 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code has been invoked against the filmmaker, S Syamsundar said. Ranjith resigned as the president of the state-run Chalachitra Academy following the shocking allegations. Sreelekha Mitra revealed that she was asked to be a part of “Paleri Manikyam” and visited an apartment in Kadavantra to talk about it during the pre-production phase, but Ranjith tried to touch other parts of her body with a sexual motive after touching her hand first. She soon realised his wily intentions, stopped him and went back to the hotel where she was staying. She also informed the film’s screenwriter Joshy Joseph about the same, but was not even given a return ticket as she returned to Kolkata after refusing to be a part of the project.

“The person in question (Ranjith) is a big name in the Malayalam film industry and a national award-winning director. I went to his house to discuss an upcoming film project and I did not like his behaviour. He made certain advances in a subtle manner and I felt uncomfortable when we discussed the script. I do not know if he has treated other female actors in the industry in the same way. It is up to them to open up or not if they have been in a similar situation. Maybe his power and influence played a role in others not speaking up,” she said.

She urged the authorities to take action against him for “abusing women with criminal intent in the year 2009.” She also stated that she could not pursue the case further as she was not from Kerala. She stated that she was filing a complaint because the Kerala officials had taken the stand that a formal complaint was required. The offence was committed in an apartment in Kadavantra, hence the complaint was filed with the district police chief in Kochi City. The Special Investigation Team (SIT), which was set up by the government to probe the allegations of sexual abuse of women in the Malayalam film industry, would be consulted before taking any further action in the case.

Ranjith denied her allegations and claimed that he was the “real victim” in this case, but stepped down from his role as chairman of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy after the accusation. He also said that it would “adversely affect the reputation of the Left government” in an audiotape. It is notable that many actresses came forward with revelations about sexual exploitation in the film industry after the release of the Hema Committee report on August 18, when the government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was criticized for delaying its release.