The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), on Friday, August 23, denied the existence of an all-controlling power lobby in Malayalam cinema as pointed out by the Hema Committee report. The report, which was recently released to RTI applicants on August 21, stated that the industry is under the grip of a ‘power group’ and that ‘casting couch’, a euphemism for sexual harassment, is the norm in the industry. But AMMA general secretary Siddique denied this in a press meet, after four days of silence on the report. Though the shocking findings of the report led to widespread public discourse in the state, neither AMMA nor any of the big stars of Malayalam cinema had responded to it until now.
“I have worked in the Malayalam film industry for 40 years. There is no such power lobby. No lobby can control cinema in any manner,” said Siddique in Kochi, in the presence of other AMMA office bearers including actors Vinu Mohan, Jayan Cherthala, Jomol, and Ananya. He added that the delay in response is because the organisation has been focusing on an upcoming stage show to collect funds for those affected by the Wayand landslides.
The Hema Committee, headed by retired High Court judge K Hema, was formed by the Kerala government in the aftermath of the actor assault case of 2017 to study the working conditions of women in Malayalam cinema. The three-member Committee found that 10-15 men in the industry – including producers, directors, and actors– constitute a ‘power group’ that controls the workplace. Witnesses who deposed before the Committee said that this ‘mafia’ can make or break careers by imposing unofficial work bans and sidelining those who offend it.
When asked about this, Siddique said that they have no idea what this means. “We don’t know what this power group is. The Committee report has also not mentioned who all are there in this group,” he said. Siddique went on to claim that he doubts if the report was referring to a certain ‘high powered committee’ which was formed ten years ago and included two members from various organisations to solve industry issues.
“How can one particular group decide who will act in a movie and what kind of movie to be made? Movies are for the people. How can you say this is a mafia? If it was a mafia or a power group that was running this industry, then there would not be good cinema,” he added.
The Committee report has also revealed disturbing details about unsafe accommodations provided to women during shoots and several women said there were midnight knocks on their doors, sometimes so forceful that they feared someone would break in. It has criticised AMMA for inaction on women’s complaints, but Siddique wriggled out of questions on this stating that he was unaware of such instances.
“The reason why we are not sure about such issues is because nobody has come directly to us and reported an incident. If it comes to our notice, we have no hesitation to take action against the culprits,” he said.
The Justice Hema Committee submitted its findings to the Kerala government in December 2019, but the report was not made public until August 2024. The version of the report that was released through RTI does not have the names or identifying details of the witnesses to protect their privacy.