“The sky is full of mysteries, with the twinkling stars and the beautiful moon.” You just read the first line of the Hema Committee report, which gnawed a good part of Malayalam Film Industry’s foundation since its release to the public. What a way to start such a report, which was assigned by the government to unearth the dirty secrets of Mollywood and the turmoil faced by women at work!
For over half of this year, Mollywood was consistently in the news for positive reasons. On August 19th, as the Hema Committee report was released after seven years of extensive research and investigation, it exposed a totally different face of Mollywood. The report was full of allegations against many renowned male faces from the cine field, for making advances on women in exchange for opportunities.
Dileep’s sexual assault of a prominent actress ignited a significant stir in both the industry and the public. The committee, established in 2017, concluded its investigation by 2019. Since then, numerous legal complications have prevented the public release of the report. Finally, in August, the report was released, seemingly revealing a multitude of issues! The report, which has 296 pages, contains testimonies of at least 80 women against male dominancy and sexual assaults prevailing in the industry. Though the report doesn’t explicitly reveal any names, it definitely pointed out some of the popular actors for making sexual advances against actresses against their will. Actors like Siddique, Baburaj, etc. were subjected to allegations. Filmmaker Ranjith and screenwriter Saajin too were exposed by female artists. Siddique resigned his position as the general secretary of AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artists) after he faced the allegation.
From the first day, new testimonies began to emerge every day. The first thing the Hema committee members noticed during the intervention process was people’s denial. As they created a WhatsApp group of background dancers to interview them about the issues they faced, they chose silence over testimony. Members of the group started leaving one by one, reluctant to reveal any kind of detail due to fear. The Hema Committee also pointed out the denial of human rights. Multiple movie sets denied women basic amenities. Artists complained that they did not have proper toilets in shooting locations.
The major allegation in the report though was sexual harassment by co-stars towards female artists. As per the report, the women in the industry are subjected to provide sex on-demand for people. The report highlights how new-comers are expected to provide sexual favors to multiple people in return for roles in movies. There was also statements of actresses revealing how people knocked at their door during night time. As per the Hema Committee Report, “That knocking will not be polite or decent but, they repeatedly bang at the door, by force. On many occasions, they felt that the door would collapse and men would make an entry into the room by force. So unless women take somebody from the family when they go for work, they fear that they will not be safe at the workplace.”
Another key part of the report sheds light on a “mafia-like” lobby, who have the power to ban any actor at their will. All these apparently points to very popular names in the industry. As per the report, ““Even a silly thing can offend such people. For example, if a light boy fails to get up, on seeing a particular person who controls the industry, that would be is sufficient for him to be thrown out of the industry, certain witnesses pointed out.” Such unlawful ban can be seen already prevailing in Mollywood, proving these allegations true.
Currently, the Mollywood is crumbling down like a house of cards. Mohanlal, who heads AMMA, stepped down from the position along with all the executive members last day. Amma is now almost dissolved. Although, Mohanlal confirmed that after two months, a new set of people will take up the leadership of the association.
