Malayalam film producer Sandra Thomas, who had spoken out about the issues faced by women in the industry, has been ousted from the Kerala Film Producers Association. In a letter addressed to her on October 28, the KFPA said that her membership in the association has been cancelled, due to "continued indiscipline". In another letter circulated among the members, the association lamented the “derogatory statements” she had been making about it in public.
After the Hema Committee report, detailing the many issues faced by women in Malayalam cinema, came out in August this year, Sandra spoke out about the problems of female producers. Disappointed by the delayed and lukewarm response of the KFPA towards the findings of the Hema Committee, Sandra wrote to the film body about the consistent neglect faced by women in the association.
Following her dismissal from the KFPA, Sandra told TNM that this action against her might be a warning to all the women in the industry who have been coming forward with their complaints following the publication of the Hema Committee report. “They want to silence all such women. If I, a producer – an employer in a powerful position – should face such treatment, imagine what a common technician would go through,” she said.
In an interview to TNM, Sandra spoke about the "caucus" power group that existed in Malayalam cinema, as mentioned in the report, that included actors, directors, producers and people in the media. They controlled the industry and decided who got work and who did not. Even then she told us about the backlash she would face for speaking out. There is not even a redressal or Internal Committee in the KFPA, as mandated by the POSH Act, that she could go to.
In their letter of dismissal of Sandra as well as her production company Sandra Thomas Productions, the KFPA said that it found her replies to the explanations they sought unsatisfactory.
