What are men in Kannada film industry fearing? Kavita Lankesh speaks

In the aftermath of the Hema Committee report, there is clamour for committee to look into sexual harassment in many other film industries too. In a meeting held in Bengaluru, producers and actors within the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) strongly opposed the creation of an Internal Committee (IC) aimed at addressing women’s safety concerns in the workplace, arguing that it is unnecessary and could lead to "financial losses" for the industry. This move comes after the Karnataka State Women’s Commission recently suggested establishing an IC in the film sector, following the release of the Hema Committee report, which exposed poor working conditions and widespread sexual harassment in the Malayalam film industry. The establishment of ICs in workplaces is required under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) Act. TNM’s Pooja Prasanna spoke to filmmaker Kavitha Lankesh on what transpired in the meeting, how there is a push back in the industry to forming PoSH committees and whether there is sexual harassment in the Kannada film industry. Kavitha says that the Kannada film industry is dominated by men and if a woman speaks up against any kind of harassment, she is victimised further. Kavitha, along with others from the industry like actor Chetan, who are part of the film association Film Industry for Rights and Equality (FIRE) met with CM Siddaramaiah and asked for a Hema Committee-like probe.