As allegations of sexual misconduct pile up in the wake of the Hema Committee report, veteran actor and politician Radikaa Sarathkumar has spoken out about discovering hidden cameras in the caravans assigned to women actors on a Malayalam film set. Radikaa, who first spoke about the issue to Asianet News confirmed on August 31 to TNM that she had accidentally walked in on a group of men on the sets of a Malayalam film she was a part of watching videos on their phone and “sniggering”. Curious, Radikaa looked closely at what they were watching and was horrified to realise that it was footage of women actors of that film changing their clothes — taken illegally and secretly from hidden cameras in their caravans.
Declining to name the film set, Radikaa only clarified that it was for a Malayalam movie. The actor-politician also said that she had confronted the film’s team on the day of the incident and demanded to be shifted to a hotel as she no longer felt safe in her caravan. She further highlighted that the concern should not be limited to a single film set or only Malayalam cinema, as sexual misconduct is a “systemic problem” across film industries.
“I have worked for 46 years in cinema. Of course there are people who have tried to misbehave with me. It is a different matter when I am mutually attracted to someone, but men misbehave even when they hear the word ‘no’. As women, we need to feel more empowered to say no. So far no man has opened their mouth [about the Hema Committee report]. No man, in any of the cinema industries, has said anything. The onus is again on women, so they have to shoulder responsibility. The challenge now is how much can be done,” she had pointed out in her interview. She further told the Malayalam channel that she had been subjected to harassment in the Tamil cinema industry – where she has largely worked –as well, adding that other women actors have also sought help from her when being harassed.
The two critical issues that Radikaa went on to raise in her interview are concerns that were detailed in the Hema Committee report as well: the midnight knock and secret cameras in changing rooms. Multiple women had told the Hema Committee that they feared for their safety in the accommodations provided either on set or in hotels. The habit of drunk male cast and crew members banging on the doors of women artists late at night – often violently enough to nearly break the door down – was reported as a prevalent problem.
In her interview, Radikaa said that she herself had witnessed it on many occasions on the sets of various film industries, across languages. She also added that younger women artists or co-stars who had been subjected to similar treatment had sought her help multiple times in the past.
Radikaa has so far worked in 10 Malayalam films, mostly recently in Pavi Caretaker (2024), which was produced by and starred Dileep, the prime accused in the sexual assault of a Malayalam actor in a moving vehicle in 2017. Before that she had starred in Ittymaani: Made in China (2019) alongside Mohanlal.
Also read:
An orchestrated nightmare: A sexual assault that unmasked Malayalam cinema
The ABCs of Hema Committee report — India’s biggest #MeToo impact
Click here to read the publicly released version of the Hema Committee report