Now the whole world knows why the Hema Commission report, which investigated complaints of sexual harassment in the Malayalam cinema industry, was kept under wraps for five years. If not for some people who sought a copy of it under the Right to Information Act, the Kerala Government would not have budged. The commission was set up against the backdrop of a film actor who was kidnapped and sexually harassed, allegedly at the instigation of a superstar who wanted video evidence of the attack. The appointment of the Justice K Hema Commission was more to pacify the public than to uncover the truth about the state of affairs in Malayalam cinema. The former High Court judge conducted a thorough inquiry and exposed the Augean stables in Mollywood. The commission found, generally speaking, that women in the film industry did not receive any respect, and the perception was that they would suffer rather than protest against injustices.
The industry was controlled by a mafia of certain producers, actors, and distributors who had their own ways of dealing with actors who were not ready to compromise. They had an effective, informal system to isolate and deny opportunities to them. The commission found that none of the five Acts that deal with cinema are able to address the issues plaguing the industry. It has suggested drafting a new law that can address such issues in a time-bound manner. The commission dismissed the argument often made by groups like AMMA, questioning why women did not go to the police. It cites the fact that women face maximum harassment in their own domestic circles but still do not go to the police. What is needed is a system where anyone who harasses a woman receives punishment. Certainty of punishment is more effective than its severity.
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