Thiruvananthapuram: The Malayalam film industry – which has produced some outstanding movies that have gone on to win national and international acclaim – has an underbelly that is rotten and stinking to the core. This is the crux of the Justice K Hema Committee Report that was released Monday by the Kerala Government, after four years of inexplicable delay.
About The Origin Of The Report
The committee that went into the working conditions of women in the Malayalam film industry had some shocking revelations to make, including details of how an all-male criminal gang controls the industry with an iron grip. The report was released under the RTI Act after masking 63 pages from the 295-page draft in order to protect the women who gave evidence of shocking sexual harassment, harrowing work experience, and how powerful actors, producers, and others sought sexual favours, including sex, for surviving in the industry.
Backroom efforts were made to stall the report till the last moment by people connected and outsiders seeking a stay from the Kerala High Court. A powerful lust-filled lobby determines who should stay in the industry and who should be cast in films.
Shocking Details Revealed By The Report
“In the course of the study, we understood that the Malayalam film industry is under the control/clutches of certain producers, directors, actors – all male. They control the whole of Malayalam industry and they dominate other persons working in the cinema,” the report said.
In a frank admission based on evidence at hand, the report said the Malayalam film industry was heavily influenced by criminals and misogynists. The report refers to this gang as the ‘mafia’ because they wield the power to make or ruin the careers of those who spoke against them. The report confirmed the involvement of ‘major’ actors, though they have not been named. This has led to a major buzz on who these ‘major actors’ are. But a film critic, who knows the inside workings of the industry, said on condition of anonymity, “Everybody is involved. Nobody is clean.”
This mafia could do anything in cinema, according to its whims and fancies, and it is so powerful that it can ban prominent directors, producers, actors, or any other person, though the ban is illegal and unauthorised, the report said.
“No man or woman dare utter a word which may offend anyone belonging to the power group because such a person will be wiped off the industry by the powerful lobby,” the report said.
Report Beings In A Cinematic Style
The report begins in cinematic style: “The sky is full of mysteries with the twinkling stars and the beautiful moon. But scientific investigation has revealed that the stars do not twinkle and the moon may not be as beautiful as it seems. Do not trust what you see, even salt looks like sugar” It reveals distressing and horrifying details of the casting couch, lack of privacy, and adequate facilities for women. Further, the report further says, “There is a general assumption that women come to the cinema (industry) to make money and they will surrender to anything. The men in the cinema (industry) cannot even imagine that it is because of their passion for art and acting that a woman comes to the movie (industry). But the impression is they are coming for fame and money and they will sleep with any man to get a chance in a movie.”
Women who agree to the terms of the mafia are given code names like ‘cooperating artists’. Multiple statements of women compromising their integrity for roles have emerged, the report said. The report further said production controllers acted as manipulative middlemen while revealing distressing details of sexual harassment. Actresses would face persistent knocking at their doors at midnight, with the knocks growing more forceful if they did not respond. Finally, some would yield.
Another form of harassment was to force a ‘non-cooperating actress’ into multiple retakes of scenes of hugging and kissing, as others looked on with glee. Despite all this, no actress dared to complain to the police because the mafia would silence them and even threaten their families. The report mentions the horrifying cycle that junior artists had to go through. They were bluntly told that they would get a chance in cinema only if they complied with the demands for sex. They had no fixed working hours and were forced to work from 7 am to 2 am the following day, with no overtime or transport facilities. They were served substandard food and had to use filthy makeshift loos with just a cloth serving as a door. They were afraid to drink water, as this would force them to go to the loo. The report also covers issues of pay disparities and is based on the deposition of 51 persons.
