Actor Rohini, president of the gender sensitisation and internal complaints committee (IC) of the South Indian Artists’ Association, has filed a police complaint against a medical doctor Kantharaj, alleging that he made derogatory remarks about women in the film industry. The actor filed a complaint on Friday, September 13, with regards to the claim by Kantharaj that women actors “adjusted” with film crew to get roles in movies.
Kantharaj is a medical doctor, who says that he follows Dravidian ideology, and is seen making political and social commentary on a wide range of issues. It is to be noted that he makes misogynist, queerphobic and extremely problematic comments.
According to reports, Rohini filed her complaint to city police commissioner A Arun, which has then been forwarded to the Chennai city cybercrime unit. Kantharaj, in multiple interviews to YouTube channels, has been speaking about the casting couch– a euphemism for sexual harassment. Speaking about the Hema Committee report and its impact in Kerala, the doctor claimed that women in the Tamil film industry also agree for ‘adjustment’ in order to land on film roles. Rohini, in her complaint, has said that his comments were ‘demeaning’ and ‘vulgar’. Further, she has also reportedly sought to remove the video from YouTube.
The Hema Committee, constituted by the Kerala government in the aftermath of the 2017 actor assault case and the formation of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), found that there is a power lobby consisting of top-tier male actors, producers, and directors who control the Malayalam film industry. It also cited that human rights violation, including sexual harassment, is rampant in the industry.