Movies are reflection of our society, at least that’s how it’s meant to be. And if there is one industry in India, which is living upto the expectations of bringing progressive and unconventional cinema, it’s Mollywood, or the Malayalam movie industry. With movies like ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’, ‘Manjummel Boys’, ‘Kumbalangi Nights’, ‘Aattam’, ‘Kaathal: The Core’, and many more, Mollywood never fails to impress with its powerful storytelling and strong messaging.

But, just like moon, every big shining thing has a dark side, and that’s also the case here, as was highlighted in the horrific ‘Hema Committee Report’. I know, I’m quite late in writing on this topic. But, this is an issue which is of high importance and I couldn’t avoid writing on it. With some fresh developments in the case, it’s apt time to express my views on it.

Timeline of ‘Hema Committee Report’

The episode commenced when Bhavana Menon, a leading Malayalam actress, was abducted and sexually assaulted in a moving car in 2017. What was even more shocking that superstar Dileep was the prime accused in the case, for allegedly orchestrating the whole thing.

Following this, the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) – a body comprising of solely women actors, producers, directors and technicians – was formed to look into the matter. The WCC urged Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan government for conducting an inquiry into not just this episode, but also into the larger female centric issues in the Malayalam movie industry. Eventually, a committee was formed headed by retired high court judge, Justice Hema K, along with former bureaucrat K B Valsalakumari, and actor T Sarada. The committee presided over the tedious, yet sensitive task of speaking to many affected women in the industry, as well as other stakeholders, before submitting the report to CM Vijayan in 2019.

But, there awaited another twist. Despite the report being with the government, it was not made public for 4.5 years. The reason was obvious, the report consisted names of some really high-profile celebrities. The state government, however, cited that the report contains some “deeply personal stories” of women, and making them public would amount to ‘breach of privacy’. Several RTI activists approached the Kerala State Information Commission (KSIC), which ruled in favour of the report being made public. The over 900-page report was finally released in August 2024, but only after redacting 63 pages which reportedly contained the sensitive and graphic accounts of the survivors.

Details of the Report

The report brought to light some extremely harrowing details from the Malayalam movie industry. It found that the practice of sexual harassment was deeply embedded in the industry. From casting couch demanding sexual favours from female actors in exchange for roles, to drunk male co-stars banging their hotel doors at night, leaving the female actor emotionally traumatized; things were very dangerous for the women.

Additionally, even the working environment in the industry is unhygienic, with female actors struggling even for getting proper washrooms and change areas, the report said. The situation was similar for female junior artists, directors and technicians in the industry.

In majority of cases, the female victims didn’t report the cases out of fear. The very fact they told their stories to the committee was the promise of confidentiality. This also highlights another poignant issue present in the industry, ie, the presence of powerful lobbies. The report highlights that these lobbies, consisting of some 10-15 (or more) big names, are so strong that if anyone tried to complaint against them, or simply hit their fragile egos, the female actors were straightaway boycotted from the industry, and no work came their way despite how many doors they knock.

What made the report particularly disruptive was it having big names – actor Siddique (general secretary of Association for Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA)), Mukesh (actor and former politician), Ranjith Balakrishnan (movie director), and many more among the accused. With so many big names in the dock, the whole industry came under scrutiny. The whole AMMA committee then headed by superstar Mohanlal, resigned from their positions.

Dark Truth

The allegations brought to light by the Hema Committe Report were not just shocking, but also extremely uncomfortable and worrying. It shows a sad but unfortunate truth that while the Mollywood continues to present bold and progressive themes in its movies, the issue at the core of it, remains as unaddressed as anywhere else. And a fair share of blame also falls on the CPI-led Kerala government, for first holding onto the report for 4.5 years and not taking any major action even after it came out.

But, having said that, I don’t think this is the case only with the Malayalam industry. No one can argue that if a similar committee is set to probe Bollywood, Bengal’s Tollywood or any other regional movie industry, similar or who knows, even more glaring allegations will come to light. Neither casting couch nor presence of powerful lobbies is alien for other industries.

The ‘Hema Committee Report’, in my opinion, is a big wake-up call for all movie industries across the country against the systemic repression and assault of women actors. There is a strong need for measures guaranteeing a secure and healthy environment to women actors and technicians, just like their male counterparts. Even if the government needs to intervene to set up an oversight and redressal body across the industries for this purpose, that can be even more impactful.

The Recent Update

After close to a year of the report being made public, the Kerala police have decided to drop the sexual assault cases which came to light after the ‘Hema Committee Report’. The reasons cited are mainly “lack of evidence” and “non-cooperation” from survivors. Now, it’s not that surprising, considering many cases are as old as from the 90s. Also, the survivors already did a daring job to come up with their testimonies, and it’s not surprising if they don’t want their identities to come out by any chance by proceeding with the case.

A Ray of Hope

Just when it seemed that the story would end on a disappointing note with the sexual assault cases being closed, a new development came. In the latest elections for AMMA, Shwetha Menon and Kukku Parameswaran were elected president and general secretary respectively, which means the body will be led by women for the first time in its three-decade history. The elections were necessitated after the previous body headed by superstar Mohanlal resigned from their posts in wake of the allegations. What is particularly noteworthy is that superstars Mohanlal and Mammootty had backed having a woman head of the body. Actor Jagdeesh, who earlier filed his nomination for the elections, later backed out to support this move.

Now, of course, just having a woman head at AMMA won’t solve all the problems faced by women in the industry, but it will lend a strong voice to the women, allowing them to better raise issues concerning them and build a culture where all actors, irrespective of their genders, will be able to work in a safe, equal and healthy environment. I end this Blog, on this optimistic note, hoping that the industry – of which I’m myself a huge admirer of – does come out of the shadow of this blot, and applies the values it showcases in its movies.

“The sky is full of mysteries; with the twinkling stars and beautiful moon. But, scientific investigation revealed that stars do not twinkle, nor does the moon look beautiful”: Hema Committee Report