A day after raising sexual assault allegations against Malayalam actor Baburaj and director VA Shrikumar, a former junior artiste on August 27, Tuesday, lodged a police complaint via email to the special investigation team (SIT) appointed by the Kerala government, to probe instances of sexual harassment in the Malayalam film industry. Speaking to the media, the complainant said that S Ajeetha Begam, a member of the SIT team, had approached her and asked if she was ready to file a formal complaint, to which she agreed.
After the release of the Hema Committee report on August 19, which shed light on the rampant sexual harassment and abuse prevalent in Malayalam cinema, many women had come out publicly to share the traumatic experiences they had to endure in the industry, naming several prominent actors and directors as perpetrators.
The complainant, who no longer works in the industry, had alleged on August 26 that she faced bitter experiences in the industry at the hands of Baburaj and Shrikumar. Baburaj is an influential figure in the Malayalam film industry, having climbed the rungs as a junior artiste who primarily did negative roles, before taking on more prominent character roles over the past decade. Shrikumar, an ad and feature film director, is primarily known for his 2018 directorial Odiyan starring Mohanlal.
According to the complainant, Baburaj had sexually assaulted her after offering a role in a movie. “Baburaj had invited me to his house in Aluva, claiming that the director, the casting director, and the production controller of the film were all at his house. He said we could discuss the film and about my role in it. But when I reached his house, there was nobody present. He gave me a room to rest and offered me food. And then he entered the room and sexually assaulted me. Such an experience from him was completely unexpected for me. I was in shock. I didn’t have any support at the time. I also didn’t have any money with me. It was only the next day that I was able to leave that house,” she said.
She added that her bitter experience with Shrikumar happened in 2020, when he allegedly invited her to a hotel in Kochi offering her a role in an advertisement, before sexually abusing her. She said she later decided to leave the film industry, as the offers were often accompanied with demands for ‘adjustments.’ She had to face bad experiences when she appeared for certain auditions as well, she added.
As per the Hema Committee report, “adjustments” and “compromise” are two words that women in the industry are very familiar with. They essentially mean that any aspiring female actor is “asked to make herself available for sex on demand.”
The complainant said she didn’t file a complaint at the time because the perpetrators were “people of fame,” and she was scared it would affect her survival. “I got the courage to open up because now there are people who can support me. The Hema committee report is also an important factor that helped me speak up,” she said.
Baburaj later denied the allegations against him, claiming that some people in the film industry were behind the “conspiracy” to trap him. He said this was because they were worried he might be considered for the post of the general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), a post that was left vacant after the resignation of actor Siddique following sexual assault allegations against him. Baburaj was the joint secretary of the organisation, until all the office bearers of AMMA including its president Mohanlal resigned claiming “moral responsibility“ on August 27.
The actor-producer had also asked the complainant to “expose her face in the public” if she was assertive about her allegations.
On August 27, the complainant confirmed to the media that she had filed a complaint with the SIT. “Baburaj has denied my allegations against him. So I decided to file a complaint,“ she said.
The Hema Committee was formed in 2017 to study the difficulties faced by women in the Malayalam film industry. A redacted version of the committee report that protected the privacy of its witnesses was released on August 19, nearly five years after it was submitted to the government. It has pointed out in detail various issues prevalent in the industry, ranging from sexual abuse and lack of a grievance redressal system, to the unavailability of toilets for women on film sets.