Nothing is going to change in a hurry unless attitudes change and punishments are speedy and fair, notes Ramesh Menon.

Worms are daily crawling out of the Kerala film industry as it gets rocked by new charges of sexual abuse, harassment, blackmail, discrimination, and sordid work conditions for women.

All this catapulted into the open only because of the release of the Justice Hema Committee report on sexual harassment of women and working conditions in the Malayalam film industry.

Though it was submitted in December 2019 to the government, it was kept under wraps and released only in August this year as activists relentlessly fought to bring it out.

Obviously, there was a lot to hide.

Seventeen complaints have been registered, and probes are ongoing. Will the mighty men who control Kerala’s film industry against whom charges have been made be punished?

This is a question that no one is willing to answer.

There is rightly a sense of scepticism, as these are not new charges. It has always been floating around, but the hyper masculinity of the industry kept it underground.

Voices were also silenced.

Superstar Mohanlal, who headed the governing body of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, maintained a studied silence as activists erupted with anger after the allegations of sexual abuse, rape and wrong doing came tumbling out against top actors like Siddique, Jayasurya, Mukesh, V K Prakash, Maniyanpilla Raju, Edavela Babu, Director Ranjith, and others.

When his silence became a burden on his image, Mohanlal lamely said, ‘wrongdoers should be punished if there is evidence against them.’

Mohanlal also said that he had not read the report while the media is reporting it every single day.

As the Opposition demanded the resignation of Mukesh, the CPI-M, which heads Kerala’s Left Democratic Front government said around 90 MLAs from the BJP, Congress and AAP facing similar charges but had not resigned. Mukesh is a CPI-M MLA.

While the Kerala government did make an attempt to open the can of worms, what about the other states?

No state government has thought it fit to probe conditions in the backyard of its film industry though many celebrities and activists are demanding it.

Actor Swara Bhaskar remarked that showbiz had always been a patriarchal power set-up where a woman was labelled a troublemaker if she spoke up. She asked why other language film industries were not discussing the same thing.

A shroud of silence in other states speaks volumes. The silence from Bollywood is the loudest.

The probable fear is that in every state there would be too many skeletons tumbling out of cupboards if committees are instituted to enquire into the conditions and complaints of women in its film world.

Few voices are trying to force the issue. Actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu has asked the Telangana government to publish a similar report on sexual harassment and working conditions.

Bengal actor Ritabhari Chakraborty asked the West Bengal government to establish a committee investigating sexual harassment in the Bengali film industry.

It goes to the credit of the Pinarayi Vijayan government in Kerala for instituting such a committee after the state was rocked by the sexual abuse of a leading actress by hired criminals who abducted her in a car.

The crime was allegedly planned by Dileep, a top actor, as he wanted to get even with her as he suspected that she had told his then wife, Manju Warrier, about an extramarital affair with Kavya Madhavan, another actress.

Dileep opted for a divorce and married Kavya Madhavan. Dileep is presently out on bail.

After this incident, women from the industry formed the Women in Cinema Collective, demanding that a committee be set up to document the sexual harassment of women, how they were being silenced and the lack of security at workplaces in the film industry.

Women had to pay the price

Numerous women told the Committee about how they were sexually abused or discriminated against when they did not give in to advances by men who were actors, directors, cinematographers and others in the film industry.

Many hesitated to speak up, feating they would be singled out and denied work.

The report said women were openly told to ‘adjust’ or ‘compromise’, which was a euphemism for agreeing to have sex with those who called the shots.

At the very beginning, women were asked to ‘adjust’ and ‘compromise’ if they wanted work.

They are asked to make themselves available for sex on demand and are often told that top actresses reach the top by adjusting and compromising.

This was the impression that used to be given to newcomers to make them believe that sex is what would provide them with a foothold and persuade them to surrender to demands for sex.

Newcomers believed this, and they became victims of sexual exploitation, the report said.

Safety was an issue at the workplace. There was no dignity either, as in most shoots, and there were no toilets for women.

The Committee remarked that it was ridiculous to ask women to go to a wooded area or behind a bush to serve as a toilet.

Men who were interviewed said that for so many years, women had ‘managed’ despite the lack of toilets and changing facilities. As if it was normal and need not be rectified.

The report said that many were afraid to speak out, fearing adverse consequences.

‘The experiences which many women have gone through in cinema are really shocking and are of such gravity that they cannot be disclosed even to close family members,’ it said.

Even bold women hesitated to recount their experiences, fearing being shunned from the industry as men were mighty.

Many recounted how they were denied work as they stood their ground and did not respond to advances.

Women pointed out that in no other field were women forced to have sex to get a job.

They pointed out that parents and close relatives often accompanied them to the sets as they were apprehensive about safety at the workplace.

In no other job do women have to travel to their workplace with their parents, the report said.

When the Committee made a WhatsApp group of dancers and sent them a questionnaire, most quit.

Discreet enquiries revealed that those who employed them told them not to respond.

When two dancers came to the Committee and said that they had absolutely no issues and were well looked after, it was obvious that they were sent to say this.

If women stayed in hotel rooms during the shoots, it was not uncommon for drunken men to knock on their doors.

In one case, a top actor changed the room of a female artist to the one next to his. She panicked and left the hotel and the film.

In another case, when a female artist was raped, she headed home traumatised.

When she broke the news to her husband, his attitude changed, and he often assaulted her. Her marriage broke down, ending with a divorce.

When she filed a police complaint, there was pressure on her to withdraw, and threats were issued even to her lawyer.

When women started deposing, the Committee initially felt that it was difficult to believe these allegations.

But as the enquiry proceeded, they were convinced that it was genuine and well-founded, the report said.

The fear of social ostracism and consequences

Names of the abusers were struck off as the Committee said that its function was to study the issues related to women and not to name and shame anyone or expose the guilty. This made no sense.

Why do women not go to the police, asked men who were interviewed by the Committee.

Women feared social ostracism and worse consequences, including threats to life as the perpetrators were influential.

They dreaded cyber attacks on their social media if the men were well-known figures and had a fan base.

Women produced photographic evidence of how they were attacked online by fans of the perpetrator.

Many women said they were banned because they spoke about undesirable things that happened.

Some producers, they said, were afraid of giving them work as they would offend influential members of cine organisations like the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists.

Junior artists were reluctant to speak to the Committee. The few who dared to speak of pathetic working conditions, payment less than promised, no medical help if they got injured, conveyance not offered even if they were leaving the set at 2 am.

One of them recounted how she slept at a railway station after the shoot as it was the safest place.

Many said they were not offered food or water even if they worked 19 hours a day!

The report said that if women were assertive and demanded higher remuneration, producers would replace them, but men would be offered higher payments as they were ‘indispensable’.

The report said 10 to 15 individuals constituted a power group controlling the Malayalam film industry.

‘As long as the power structure exists in the Malayalam film industry, no woman will be free from abuse.

‘Also, an industry body to listen to grievances will not help as the members constituting it will be from the industry itself, and confidentiality will not be maintained, adding to further torture of the victim.

‘Therefore, an independent forum must be constituted by the government to deal with the problems of women in cinema,’ it said.

The 289-page report had many disturbing details:

• Sexual demands were made to women for entry into cinema and to keep getting work.
• Instances of sexual harassment, abuse, and assault against women at the workplace, while being transported, and in places of accommodation while the shooting was on.
• Women tried not to drink water during work hours as there were no toilets. Many reported urinary tract infections because of this.
• As changing rooms were not there, women held a cloth around the person changing costumes.
• There was no place to dispose of sanitary napkins at the location.
• Mental torture of women if they expressed resentment and unwillingness to meet sexual demands.
• Silencing of women under threat of a ban from working in the film industry.

The Committee suggested many measures:

• Fair remuneration for females in the industry.
• The government must establish a Tribunal with the judicial powers of a district court judge who is gender sensitive.

  The court must have powers to deal with matters like sexual harassment, service conditions, breach of contract, illegal bans on people from working, and cases be disposed of within a definite period with the provision to appeal to the high court.

• Encourage more participation of women in the film industry.
• Introduce gender sensitivity in filmmaking curriculums.
• Make it mandatory for all film cast and crew to attend basic gender awareness programmes before production starts.
• Special training for women to develop skills in lighting, camerawork, hair styling, makeup, and so on to ensure that the women’s workforce increases on sets.
• Mandatory written signed contracts to protect all who work in the film industry.
• Encourage genuine women producers and directors by sanctioning loans for filmmaking at nominal interest and ensure they are not proxies for men.
• The government should frame a comprehensive film policy that covers all aspects of film production, distribution, and exhibition, focusing on gender equity.
• The main objective of such a policy should be to encourage new talent, artists and technicians and create new job opportunities for women.

Will Anything Change?

There are very few women in the technical side of films as the stereotype is that they cannot be good technicians.

Priya Seth, who shot Airlift, said it was not the system but the film’s director, Raja Krishna Menon, who gave her a fair opportunity.

‘Lots of questions were asked if I would be able to handle the pressure. But, this question is never asked when a man is involved,’ she said.

Menon points out that the general perception is that women are good with emotional subjects and not with action driven content.

Women did not opt for cinematography because of gender stereotyping.

‘Many producers and directors find it harder to work with women technicians because they have never done it. More women need to come out and shoot films like Airlift to prove them wrong,’ says Menon.

‘I am often asked why I chose Priya to shoot Airlift. Her gender did not even cross my mind. In fact, I work with many female crew members. Women are far better at organising than men.’

Actor Prithviraj Sukumaran now says he had asked an assistant director ‘to leave’ who was accused of drugging and raping a junior artist.

She alleged that the assistant director did this during the shoot of Bro Daddy. She alleged he had shot videos and used it to blackmail her. She complained to the police, but no action was taken.

In fact, she said, he managed to work again as an assistant director with Prithviraj in another film…

The Hema Committee report may be a watershed in the Malayalam film industry known for its brilliant contribution to meaningful cinema.

But nothing is going to change in a hurry in a profoundly patriarchal society reeking of misogyny unless attitudes change and punishments are speedy and fair.

Ramesh Menon, award-winning journalist, educator, documentary film-maker and corporate trainer, is the author of Modi Demystified: The Making Of A Prime Minister.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com