The Kerala Film Producers Association (KFPA) on Friday, August 23, expressed their commitment to address the issues raised by the Justice Hema Committee report. The redacted version of the Hema Committee report published on August 19, revealed the sexual harassment faced by women in the Malayalam film industry.
KGPA also stated that they welcome the Kerala High Court’s direction to submit the uncensored version of the Justice Hema Committee report in a sealed cover.
“There is a need to address the issues regarding some unfortunate incidents that occurred many years ago. All the organisations and their members in the film industry have the responsibility to address such issues. We are expressing our commitment towards addressing this,” KFPA said in a statement.
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.
Meanwhile, after four days of silence, the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (A.M.M.A) – the largest actors’ welfare organisation – denied the existence of an all-controlling power lobby in Malayalam cinema as pointed out by the Hema Committee report.
“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 the presence of other A.M.M.A office bearers including actors Vinu Mohan, Jayan Cherthala, Jomol, and Ananya.
TNM found that the Kerala government had redacted 11 paragraphs from the report, beyond what was suggested by Dr A Abdul Hakkim, the Kerala State Information Commissioner and the State Public Information Officer (SPIO).
The report, which was recently released to RTI applicants on August 19, 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.
Though the shocking findings of the report led to widespread public discourse in the state, neither A.M.M.A nor any of the big stars of Malayalam cinema had responded to it until now.
Siddique claimed that A.M.M.A has never been against the publication of the report and said, “Women in Malayalam cinema are mostly the members of A.M.M.A. So, the issues concerning them will concern us also, and the recommendations made by the Committee will be useful to them. We want the recommendations to be implemented.”