Women junior artists and dancers in the Malayalam film industry were instructed not to depose before the Hema Committee constituted by the Kerala government, reveals the report that was released on Monday, August 19. The reports says that the artists were apprehensive about divulging information to the Committee due to the fear of losing work opportunities. Those who feared speaking out against the industry also included prominent male artists, who believed they would face bans or wrath from a “powerful lobby in the industry”. 

The report says that it seemed that the list of artists given to the Committee by the junior artist coordinator(s) deliberately comprised people who were not willing to speak. However, the Committee was able to corroborate statements given by several junior artists in discretion to reach a conclusion that junior artists faced serious problems despite the presence of unions. A person who wrote two letters to the state government contending that junior artists did not want to speak out fearing consequences, was also contacted. It is to be noted that a meeting of junior artists was convened on December 7, 2019, a day before they were supposed to meet the committee. 

According to the report, women work in about 30 areas of film production, ranging from makeup artists to studio staff. The committee had formed a WhatsApp group for dancers and to convene meetings and discuss the issues. The two dancers who appeared before the committee said that they [dancers in the industry] did not face any problems. However, other evidence collected by the Committee indicated that they were deliberately suppressing information. 

Sexual favours in exchange of job opportunities

The Committee found evidence of workplace harassment such as employers demanding sexual favours from junior artists if they wanted a job.

“The girls who are called for working as junior artists are told that they would be given a chance in cinema if they comply with the demands for sex. One of the female junior artists coordinator stated that WhatsApp groups are created by certain coordinators or managers with both men and women as members in the group. Their acquaintance leads to undesirable results and even ends up in flesh trade,” the report says.

The report states that women hairstylists are also harassed by the men working in film sets. A witness deposed before the committee that a makeup man abused her when she refused to stay with him in a room. “The makeup man called her over the phone at night, threatened and abused her in filthy language. There is no safety in the room allotted for their accommodation. The door will open by just a push,” the report said. Despite efforts taken by the film crew, the hairstylist had to leave the set before her work was finished. 

Some of the other problems include long work hours, improper wages, differential behaviour, denial of food, inaccessibility to toilets, and apathy. A woman junior artist who had heart ailments was forced to get up from a chair and made to stand in the hot sun without giving her water. She was also asked not to come for work after the incident. “They are totally neglected in respect of the basic needs which are required by them. They are not provided with even toilet facilities on the set, even though they are made to be on set for 19 hours continuously from 7 am to 2 am in the night,” it reads. 

The Hema Committee was formed by the Kerala Government in 2017 based on a petition by the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) to study the challenges faced by the women in the industry. Even though the Committee submitted the findings to the Kerala Government in December 2019, the report was not made public for so long. On July 6 this year, the State Information Commission (SIC) passed an order directing the Kerala government to issue the committee report to RTI applications filed before July 2, after redacting information that could identify individuals mentioned in the report, as prohibited under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

The formation of the Hema Committee was triggered by the shocking abduction and sexual assault of a top female actor in Kerala in February 2017. The crime was executed by a gang of men who were allegedly hired by superstar Dileep. You can read all our stories on this case here. You can also contribute to our reporting fund by clicking here.